When I was young my mother took my sister and I back east to visit relatives. We drove an old Nash Rambler from Los Angeles to Illinois and Missouri.
I remember it was summer and near the 4th of July. A tornado came through while we were there and after it was over we found a baby Robin (male)
on the ground underneath a tree.
Our family being of German descent we gave the bird a German name.
We called him “smutsiga Fogel” (I may have the spelling wrong) which means dirty bird. He made the most spectacular poops,
nothing like the relatively civilized ones our parrots make.
For food we would go to fishing supply stores and buy grub worms. We “smuggled” him all the way back to Los Angeles in a shoe box.
He had injured one of his wings in his fall from the tree but being very young it healed quickly.
The injured wing did not heal perfectly though so he always had one wing that would sag down making him look a bit crooked.
Having a Robin in Los Angeles was a problem at that time. There were no wild robins in the area so we did not want to release him into the wild
where he would never find a mate or a flock.
We kept him for about a year until we could go on vacation in Oregon and release him there (where there were wild robins).
My grandparents lived there and we would go there for vacation almost every year.
We would take his cage outside and open the door to let him go. At first he would fly around but come back to the cage.
After a couple of times however he flew off and did not come back to the cage. It made us a bit sad but we knew it was the right thing to do.
For several years after that we would see him in the area, his sagging wing would always make him stand out.
True story.
Texsize.
I remember it was summer and near the 4th of July. A tornado came through while we were there and after it was over we found a baby Robin (male)
on the ground underneath a tree.
Our family being of German descent we gave the bird a German name.
We called him “smutsiga Fogel” (I may have the spelling wrong) which means dirty bird. He made the most spectacular poops,
nothing like the relatively civilized ones our parrots make.
For food we would go to fishing supply stores and buy grub worms. We “smuggled” him all the way back to Los Angeles in a shoe box.
He had injured one of his wings in his fall from the tree but being very young it healed quickly.
The injured wing did not heal perfectly though so he always had one wing that would sag down making him look a bit crooked.
Having a Robin in Los Angeles was a problem at that time. There were no wild robins in the area so we did not want to release him into the wild
where he would never find a mate or a flock.
We kept him for about a year until we could go on vacation in Oregon and release him there (where there were wild robins).
My grandparents lived there and we would go there for vacation almost every year.
We would take his cage outside and open the door to let him go. At first he would fly around but come back to the cage.
After a couple of times however he flew off and did not come back to the cage. It made us a bit sad but we knew it was the right thing to do.
For several years after that we would see him in the area, his sagging wing would always make him stand out.
True story.
Texsize.
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