Your answer
Nothing more to do for the bird. Now fix the window.
Flying away is a good sign but not proof of recovery; some strikes kill hours later from internal injury, and nothing you can do about that. What you can change is the glass. Up to a billion birds die at windows in North America each year, and almost all of it is preventable with markings on the outside surface.
What to do right now
- 01Note which window and roughly what time. Strikes repeat at the same pane.
- 02Apply markings to the outside of the glass, spaced no more than two inches apart.
- 03Move feeders either within three feet of the window or beyond thirty feet.
- 04Close blinds on windows that line up with another window across the room.
What not to do
- Do not rely on a single silhouette decal. Birds fly around it.
- Do not apply markings on the inside surface, where reflection hides them.
Change your mind if any of this is true
Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.
- You find the bird later on the ground below the window.
- The same window is struck more than once in a season.
Get professional help
Tell us where you are — your state, then your county — and we will list the people licensed to take it there, nearest to you first. Rehabilitators are licensed by their own state, which is why we ask.
Understand the animal
Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.