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Lithuania
The bigger the box, the smaller the critter
While reviewing LiSPA’s monthly activity logs and selecting 'major accomplishments' for the year, I noticed an entry in the wildlife rehab log that is so tiny in nature that I feel it’s worth sharing. There’s a saying among wildlife rehabilitators in regards to people delivering their 'find' to a rehab clinic – 'the bigger the box, the smaller the critter.' Strangely enough, this saying is not without foundation.
Two children and their father presented 'some kind of injured bird' in a cardboard box to our Rehab Department. It was a large box, large enough for a swan, but inside the box was Europe’s tiniest wild bird. The bird had flown into a window, and had fallen unconscious to the ground, all 5 grams of it (that’s the same weight as a twenty pence coin). Wrens weigh about 10 grams, while hummingbirds weigh 3–6 grams – it turned out that our patient weighed less than a fat hummingbird! LiSPA’s Wildlife Rehab Dept had received its smallest patient ever – a goldcrest – meaning that our staff veterinarians had to examine the patient as a watch repairer would analyze a wristwatch or jeweler a gemstone.
Our tiny patient was examined under a magnifying glass and was diagnosed as having a cerebral concussion. Not much could be done apart keeping the tiny bird warm and allowing it a quiet rest. As it was unconscious, no oral medication could be used. Injections were also ruled out, as our smallest needles are as thick as the bird’s toes. I’m sure you can imagine being jabbed with a needle proportionately that size – definitely more harm than good!
By the next day our patient was fully recovered. Seemingly unafraid of humans, this friendly and now quite hungry character immediately accepted offerings of mealworms for breakfast, flew about the room hummingbird-style with utmost precision and perched on a windowsill houseplant as if saying, 'I’m ready to go!' Soon after the window was opened, we lost sight of this Europe’s smallest bird. We wished him no more 'glass encounters' of any kind and recorded his medical history amongst the 245 others in our 2004 patient log.
