Found this goldfinch on the lawn this afternoon. Thankfully does not look diseased and I think it had some how broken its neck, so sad. So light, barely knew it was in my hand
Tony
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wherryman/
That's so sad. It looks like an adult so not inexperienced. Perhaps it flew into a window or something and then succumbed to the trauma.
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Regards,Tony
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In reply to TeeJay:
Yes, I thought an adult but it was at least 20 feet from the nearest window, so am puzzeled as to how its neck was broken. On the edge of the lawn about 2 feet from one of our feeding stations, unless it flew into the cyrill baffle have no idea on how it broke its neck.
In reply to tony:
Stickers on the cyrill baffle maybe - just in case?
While we are on the issue - how do we know it wasn't a 'natural' death, i.e. the bird did not die of old age?
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"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way." John Muir
In reply to Marina P:
Sticker might work but the baffle would need a good clean first. It definitely had a broken neck as its head was very floppy,no idea of its age, it will remain a mystery.
If the baffle is dirty then that would increase its visibility (in theory) so the bird should have seen it and not tried to fly through it. Wierd ...
The reason I asked about 'natural' death is that it is something I find perplexing. There is a general tendency to assume that birds die for a 'reason' (i.e. attacks, broken necks etc) - I was just wondering whether it would be possible that said events happen after a bird has passed. In this case, would it be possible that the bird died a natural death and broke its neck whilst falling?
Marina, understand your thoughts and that could be the answer, died in flight, fell to earth & broke its neck. The other thought I had was if it had been attacked but its appearance did not support that theory, it did not look ruffled, just very peaceful. Sad but that's nature.
I had the same thought Marina, and in the absence of any certainty that's the theory I feel most comfortable with.
In reply to see gull:
It would be good if someone who knows more about birds would shed some light on this one though, don't you agree? Otherwise it looks like we are assuming that birds would be 'immortal' other than for attacks, flying into things or other accidents.
Yes Tony ... sad ... but then think that if all of them lived for ever there would be no room or food for their youngsters :)