Young birds that are mostly naked ( featherless or feathers just starting to come in) are called "nestlings". These birds stay in the nest and the parents come to feed them there. They are sometimes found on the ground directly below the nest. This occurs either because the baby fell out, blew out (common after wind storms) or was pushed out by a sibling. One must realize that this last behavior is actually adaptive for some species. This way, only the strongest of the brood survive and go on to raise young themselves. If you find a nestling out of the nest, the best thing to do is to try to place the bird back in it nest, if at all possible. If the nest cannot be reached for some reason, the following works very well: Make a "makeshift" nest out of a clean Cool Whip or margarine container. Make holes in the bottom to allow for water drainage. Line the bowl with dried grass, straw, or pine needles. Then tack the nest back up in the tree as close to the original nest as possible. Finally, place the baby bird in the nest and leave. The parents will usually come back .in a short time. Sometimes you will see the mother going back and forth between each nest feeding both sets of babies. The only time we recommend bringing the baby birds in is if you KNOW the mother is dead or if the babies are injured in any way. The natural parents do a much better job at raising their young than we could ever do. A baby bird that is featherless must be fed every 15-20 minutes from about sunrise to sunset!
If I touch the baby, will the mother reject it? NO ! ! This is simply NOT true! ! Birds in general have a very poor sense of smell and will be more bothered by your presence near the babies and not that you have touched them. After you leave the area, they will resume normal activities.
People often see baby birds that are partially feathered, sitting on the ground below a tree and automatically assume they fell out of the nest and need to be helped. At this stage in a bird's development, they are considered "fledglings". Fledglings NORMALLY will jump or fall out of the nest. This is their "flight training" stage. The mother bird will then continue feeding the birds on the ground until the bird is able to fly. Unless injured, these birds should be left where they are. Efforts should be made to keep cats, dogs, and curious onlookers away from the bird so the mother can continue to care for it.