Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/30/2007

Question
House finches nested in a lantern on our back porch, and this morning 3 of
the 4 nestlings fledged.  The last nestling in still in the lantern, softly
cheeping.  Although the parents were around regularly through this morning,
I haven't seen them return to feed the last nestling since the others fledged.  
Do the parents come back to care for late-maturing nestlings?  If not, is there
any care that will help this last nestling survive?

Answer
Normally, the parents will take care of all the young. Since it's only been a half day or so, I wouldn't start worrying yet. But it does sometimes happen that one or more nestlings don't grow as fast as the others. Sometimes it's something wrong with the nestling and sometimes it's simply a lack of food because the parents could not find enough. If the young is however abandoned, contact your local wildlife rehab center for help. It is VERY difficult to raise a young nestling without experience. Also check out www.ornithology.com/rehab.html for more advice. Roger Lederer