Nestling or Fledgling?

Don't be too eager to rescue a fully feathered young songbird (fledgling) that can't quite fly. An uninjured, young looking bird found on the ground may not be an orphan. The first thing you need to do is assess the animal for any obvious injuries such as an oddly angled leg or wing, puncture wounds or bleeding. If the bird is healthy looking, you should next allow the bird to perch on your finger. If the bird is able to grip your finger firmly, the baby bird is a fledgling. However, if the bird is not able to cling to your finger, it is probably a nestling.

Follow up:

Nestlings need to be put back into their nests if at all possible. It is a myth that adult birds will smell human scent on a baby and then reject it. It is advisable to handle a baby bird as little as possible in order to reduce the stress that the baby is experiencing. However, the mother bird, who has a very poor sense of smell, won't usually care that you handled the baby. If the nest is too high for you to safely return the bird, then make a makeshift nest out of a basket lined with dried grass and pine straw. You can also use a ½ gallon or gallon size plastic milk carton, top snapped on, with pre-cut, small holes in the bottom for water drainage and a large hole cut in the side so the bird parents can get in to feed the baby. Snuggle the baby down into the new makeshift nest and hang it as close as possible to the original nest. If bad weather comes around, bring in the makeshift nest with baby bird, but be sure to set it back outside again as soon as possible. The parents will continue to feed the babies at both locations.

Fledglings will often fall from a nest or fly down from a nest and not be skilled enough to fly back up. It is important to keep dogs, cats and children away from this baby. The parent birds will continue to feed this fledgling and are watching out for predators. It may be a few days, but this fledgling will learn to fly and be soaring before you know it.