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True or false? If a human touches a baby bird or other wild animal, the mother will reject the baby and doom it to death.

False

New Pet Pal LogoMost of us grew up being told that we shouldn't touch baby birds, or other wildlife, because the mother would detect our scent and reject the baby. I suspect this was our parents' way of keeping young, exploring hands out of places they shouldn't be, but it was accepted as gospel. Unfortunately, it's a myth that might prevent some folks from helping out wildlife.

With the notable exception of turkey vultures and a few others, birds have a really bad sense of smell. They have excellent eyesight and memories, however, which make up for olfactory deficits.

They probably aren't happy with us touching their offspring, but they wouldn't reject their baby because of our inability to keep our hands to ourselves.

While it's a good idea to keep our distance from bird nests, observing from afar, there is a time to get handsy, and that's when a baby bird — or baby squirrel or other young creature — has fallen from the nest.

If possible, you should try to put the baby back into the nest, or at the very least, keep an eye out, from a distance, to make sure the parents are aware their baby has fallen and to keep predators away.

If a parent doesn't return in a reasonable amount of time, don't try to be a hero by raising the baby yourself. Well-intentioned though you might be, the vast majority of us don't have the knowledge, experience and equipment to raise a baby bird. Instead, call an expert, a wildlife rehabilitator. We have several groups in the Bay Area that specialize in caring for wildlife and, when possible, releasing it back to nature. They can give you advice and might also ask you to bring the bird to them.

All that said, there is a time to help and a time to stand back, and it depends on how cute the bird is. If bird has lots of feathers, can hop and bop, and melt your heart with how darling it is, then leave it alone. If it has very few feathers with a face only a mother can love, put it back in the nest.

The cute babies are fledglings, meaning birds that are ready to leave their nests. The ugly ones are nestlings, and too young to be on their own. Right now, most fallen birds are nestlings, but later in the spring and summer, we'll see fledglings.

Fledglings often spend quite a bit of time on the ground as they learn to fly. Their parents might even continue feeding them, but the whole point is to get them to fly away on their own. You might want to keep an eye out to protect them from predators, as they are vulnerable at this stage, but otherwise, leave them be.