POPULAR RESOURCE
I Found a Lost Bird Outside
A Quick Guide to Safely Helping a Found Pet Bird
QUICK ANSWER
If you find a pet bird outside, get them somewhere safe first. If possible, gently contain the bird in a secure carrier, cage, or ventilated box and bring them indoors away from pets. Offer fresh water and appropriate food, then start looking for the owner. Do not immediately give the bird away to someone claiming it. Ask for proof that the bird belongs to them.
What Should I Do First?
If you can safely catch the bird, place them in a secure cage, carrier, or ventilated box. Keep them somewhere quiet, warm, and away from your own birds and other pets. Wash your hands after handling the bird and do not allow contact with your own birds. A found bird should be treated as a quarantine risk until evaluated. Offer fresh water and bird-safe food. If you don’t know what species they are, avoid guessing with medications or supplements.
How Do I Find the Owner?
Post the bird as FOUND in local lost-pet groups, neighborhood groups, community pages, and lost-bird databases. Contact nearby:
- Avian veterinarians
- Animal shelters
- Bird rescues
- Local police/animal control if they maintain lost-pet reports
- Pet stores that sell or work with birds
Include the general area and date found, but save some identifying information for verification.
Found a Pet Bird?
Little Loud Soul Bird Rescue can take in found companion birds and help provide them with a safe place while efforts are made to locate their family.
What happens if the owner isn’t found?
When a found companion bird comes into Little Loud Soul Bird Rescue, we make reasonable efforts to locate their family before the bird can become available for adoption.
Found birds are held for a minimum of 14 days while we search for their owner. During this time, the bird will not be available for adoption.
Anyone claiming a found bird will be asked to provide reasonable proof of ownership, such as photos, identifying characteristics, leg band information, veterinary records, or other details that help confirm the bird belongs to them.
If an owner cannot be located or verified after the hold period and our reasonable owner-search efforts have been completed, the bird may then enter LLSBR’s regular rescue and adoption process.
Please note: We do not take in wild birds or native wildlife. If you find an injured or orphaned wild bird, please contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for help.
Someone Says It's Their Bird — Now What?
Ask them to provide information before you give them details about the bird.
Good proof can include recent photos or videos, species/color description, leg-band information, unique markings, approximate age, words or sounds the bird makes, medical records, or details about where and when the bird escaped.
A person knowing the species or seeing your Facebook post is not proof of ownership.
Does the Bird Have a Leg Band?
If the bird is banded, do not publicly post the entire band number. Record it and ask anyone claiming the bird to provide the number or identifying portions of it.
A band may help with identification, but it doesn’t always provide a simple way to locate an owner.
What If I Can't Keep the Bird?
Contact an established bird rescue, avian veterinarian, or appropriate local shelter for help. Explain that you found the bird outdoors and are searching for its owner, rather than treating the bird as an abandoned surrender.
Found doesn't mean homeless.
Someone may be desperately searching for this bird. Before considering adoption or rehoming, make a reasonable effort to locate their family and carefully verify anyone who claims them.
When Is It an Emergency?
Seek veterinary help promptly if the bird is injured, bleeding, struggling to breathe, extremely weak, unable to perch, has been attacked by another animal, or appears severely ill.
Cat contact is especially urgent. Even a tiny puncture or scratch can require prompt veterinary treatment.