Lost & Found

When I reached home after work today, I found a mynah on the ground of the lobby. Judging from its size, it wasn't a baby, but wasn't an adult yet either. Its feathers were not fully developed yet, and it obviously hasn't learnt how to fly. Above me, I could hear the mother bird calling anxiously, no doubt worried over its child.

I looked upwards. The place wasn't well lit, and I couldn't see any nest. It was also way too high for me to climb to get a closer look. I wasn't going to leave the bird alone to be eaten by predators or be kidnapped by some cruel sadistic human, so I picked it up carefully and brought it to my place.

At first, I was desperately looking for a container high enough to hold the bird, but couldn't find one. I even resorted to using an empty instant noodles cup (after washing, of course) but the bird still managed to half-jump and half-fly out. In the end, I put it into a small wastepaper basket and put a rag at the bottom to keep it warm.

Next was food and water. I tried to give it rice, but it refused to eat. So I thought I would just find a small dish or container to put some water just in case it was thirsty. After some searching, I realised that a sake cup seemed to be the perfect choice.

Fresh mynah with sake? Just kidding.

Now that I have got it settled down, I started to think of how to take care of it. I obviously have no idea on how to take care of a bird, so I tried calling SPCA and was really relieved when someone picked up the phone. The operator said that they were open twenty four hours a day, and asked if I could bring it to their office. SPCA was actually less than a ten-minute drive from my place, so I agreed without hesitation. The operator was extremely thankful that I was willing to send an injured animal to their premises directly and thanked me profusely.

And while I was driving home after that, I was suddenly grateful for the SMRT North-South line delay this evening, because I probably only managed to chance upon the bird due to it.