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Ictinia mississippiensis
A raptor-looking bird about one foot in height from feet to bill. Dark eyes, long talons, and a mixture of mottled brown, grey, white and black colors. It seemed to be unable or unwilling to fly, but for what reason we don't know. An older bird (Probably a Mississippi Kite from the description) had been seen by my Grandma, near this one.
Rural Midwest: Cropland, Small town, Hot summer, Humid.
My Grandma called me to check this bird out that had been sitting on her front porch. We have a lot of Mississippi Kites in the area, and it looked similar in shape (although different in color) to an adult. We don't know if it was injured or if it fell out of its nest and couldn't fly, but it wasn't bothered by us approaching it and taking pictures. Several times my boy got curious and stepped too close, causing the bird to puff up and look mean. It has been on my Grandma's porch for several days now and she's not sure what to do. Any suggestions?
Update: We called our county game warden and he came over with a specialist from a nearby zoo. They safely captured the bird and transported it with the hope of rehabilitating it back to health.
http://wildlife.rescueshelter.com/Missis...
http://www.mswildliferehab.org/
or just look up wildlife rescue in Mississippi online
I know exactly whats going on here. this bird, most unfortunately, is a victim of Human Imprinting. this means at one point or another this animal was taken in by a person, probably at a young age such as branching or below, and was not properly cared for. which means this bird never got the chance to learn how to hunt for itself. its the saddest reason for any animal to go to a shelter and also why it is so important NOT to feed animals. there is nothing that can be done for this. i am making this decision based on the birds condition, appearing that it has no harm done to it. also if it were injured it is more than likely it would try to find a place to hide. it wants food and it found you. i am very positive on my conclusion and please update me. and also Jeanne is right. try to find a rescue center for this bird immediately. thanks for reading!
just one advise: make sure no one is touching it, otherwise the adult will not come anymore.
Look for a rescue reserve for birds like him? Start googling what to do? He must be hungry by now unless theres a mom feeding him in the evening or before dawn?
This is definitely a juvenile Mississipi kite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi...). Juveniles usually show brown striping on the underparts and light grey striping on the head, fading with age.
Now, on what to do with that juvenile, it looks like it was learning how to fly... unsuccessfull so far. If the adult is not feeding it, the best would be to call a local nature preservation group. They will know who to contact and what to do.
Enjoy it as it is staying on the porch!
Spotted on Aug 15, 2012
Submitted on Aug 15, 2012
