Your answer
Contain it, give it twenty minutes of dark, then test.
A bird that hits glass is usually concussed. Left in the open it is a target, and the shock of being watched keeps its heart rate up. A dark, closed, quiet box is a treatment, not a holding pen — it is what allows swelling to settle.
What to do right now
- 01Slide the bird into a paper bag or a ventilated box with a soft cloth, without gripping its body.
- 02Close it, put it somewhere quiet and shaded, indoors if it is hot or cold outside.
- 03Wait twenty minutes without opening it.
- 04Take the box outside, open it, and stand back. A recovered bird leaves immediately.
- 05If it does not fly, close the box and call a rehabilitator. Two failed releases means it needs care.
What not to do
- Do not hold it in your hands to "help it recover". Handling is the stressor.
- Do not give water or food.
- Do not release it indoors or into a room to test it.
Change your mind if any of this is true
Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.
- Blood at the beak or nostrils.
- A wing that will not fold, or a head held permanently tilted.
- It cannot perch or grip with both feet.
- It fails two release attempts.
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.