Belted Kingfisher With Head Trauma Released

The following story about a belted kingfisher was shared with us by the Avian Conservation Center in South Carolina.

A belted kingfisher was admitted to the Avian Conservation Center’s Medical Clinic after being found on the ground unable to fly in Isle of Palms, South Carolina. Clinical signs including poor pupillary light response and blood in the mouth, as well as the location the patient was found, indicated impact head trauma due to colliding with a window.

The patient was given supportive care and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories to treat the head trauma and was offered solid food.

Belted kingfishers are notorious for not self-feeding while in human care. After a few days of not eating on its own, we began supplementing the patient with EmerAid IC Piscivore.

After several days of supplemental gavage-feeding combined with offering smelt, the kingfisher began feeding on its own. The patient was then placed outside for flight training. After a week, the kingfisher was released back into the wild.