Starving crow nursed back to health by another bird

By Adam Dutton

A starving jackdaw with barely any feathers is being nursed back to health — after another bird took him under his wing.

The tiny crow — nicknamed Frank Sinatra on account of his piercing blue eyes — was found in a “sorry state” and close to death.

He was spotted in a field in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, earlier this month and taken to a rescue center where volunteers gave him food and medical treatment.

Frank was then placed in a recovery unit with another fledgling who has flocked to care for the bird — even feeding him daily meals.

Adorable videos show the pair perched together as the jackdaw helps Frank swallow worms and seeds.

Jon Beresford, who co-founded Brinsley Animal Rescue, said Frank is around 6 weeks old and was small due to malnutrition.

He said: “As soon as he arrived with us he stole all our hearts.

“His piercing eyes led us to call him Frank Sinatra and it’s stuck ever since.

“It’s not usual we name animals which come to us but all our wildlife team love him.”

While quarantined for treatment, Frank was observed calling out to his new friend and they were later placed together to help his development.

Beresford said: “At this stage of his growth, Frank would still be reliant on his parents for food, but the older fledgling has started to feed him.

"To our amazement, we have witnessed the other young fledgling feeding Frank, despite the fact they had only just started feeding themselves.

"It's amazing to watch them interact. Frank watches the older one's every move and copies him."

Staff hopes Frank will recover sufficiently to be moved to an aviary to learn to fly and prepare for eventual re-release into the wild.