Today, a juvenile Sunda Woodpecker was brought to AMK Veterinary Surgery by a kind client who rescues injured wild birds. We shall call the woodpecker Woody for now.
“This Woodpecker is still a juvenile. Looks like it has suffered a concussion (head trauma).” ~ Dr Gloria Lee, AMK Veterinary Surgery
Woody is hospitalised and will be given 50% glucose solution by mouth every two hours.
Birds can suffer from concussion (head trauma) if they fly into a hard surface like a wall or window. If you find a bird lying dazed on the ground after hitting a window:
- gently carry and place it in a box or dark container with a lid
- leave it somewhere warm and quiet (away from pets and predators)
- release the bird outside once it is awake and alert (some birds will revive within a few minutes, unless it is seriously injured.)
If the bird doesn’t recover in a couple of hours, take it to a veterinarian.
Woody is currently hospitalised at AMK Veterinary Surgery where it will be kept in a quiet area and monitored closely. Although Woody’s prognosis for the next 24 hours is poor, we are still hoping for the best!
Stay tuned for Woody’s progress.
The Sunda Woodpecker or Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker is the smallest species of woodpecker in Singapore.
Woodpeckers have a distinctive manner of hopping up and down tree trunks and branches, while drilling the wood for insects.
Here are some interesting write-ups on the Sunda Woodpecker from Nature Watch and Bird Ecology Study Group.
