![]() The rehabilitation staff, students, and volunteers do not talk to the patients. Human contact is kept to a minimum the rehabilitation staff only handle birds during the feeding and cleaning process. When humans must care for orphaned or injured baby birds, Wildlife Center staffs take special precautions to prevent them from inappropriately imprinting on humans. What does the Center do to prevent young birds from imprinting on humans? Some of these patients might be appropriate education animals the Wildlife Center has several human-imprinted birds, including Gus the Barred Owl, Jaz the American Crow, Edie the American Kestrel, and Buttercup the Black Vulture. ![]() Ultimately, imprinted birds find themselves in a “gray area” – they cannot appropriately interact with either humans or their own species.īirds who are human-imprinted are deemed unsuitable for release back into the wild due to these inappropriate interactions. They are typically not accepted by other birds of their species, likely because human-imprinted birds display odd behaviors and lack the ability to communicate properly. Human-imprinted birds also frequently have a difficult time communicating with other birds of their own species– vocalizations, postures, and a fear of humans are all things that birds learn from their parents, siblings, and other birds. It’s not unusual for an imprinted bird to exhibit territorial behaviors toward humans just as it would with members of its own species. Human-imprinted birds have no fear of people, and this lack of fear can sometimes lead to aggression toward humans. Imprinting on humans does not mean that birds will be “friendly” toward humans, nor does it mean they necessarily enjoy being near humans. Reversing the imprinting process is impossible – these birds are bonded to humans for life and will identify with humans rather that of their own species. If young birds imprint on humans, they will identify with humans for life. What happens if a bird imprints on humans? The timing of the imprinting stage varies from species to species, and some species of birds are more susceptible to imprinting inappropriately on human caregivers for reasons not fully understood. Imprinting allows baby birds to understand appropriate behaviors and vocalizations for their species, and also helps birds to visually identify with other members of their species so they may choose appropriate mates later in life. For example, precocial baby birds (such as ducks, geese, and turkeys) begin the process of imprinting shortly after hatching so that they follow the appropriate adult, providing them with safety. Imprinting for wild birds is crucial to their immediate and long-term survival. After imprinting, they will identify with that species for life. Birds do not automatically know what they are when they hatch – they visually imprint on their parents during a critical period of development. ![]() Imprinting is a form of learning in which an animal gains its sense of species identification. ![]()
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