Bird, bat or other flighted creature learning how to fly
This article is about stages of a bird's life. For the Narnia character, see List of characters in The Chronicles of Narnia.
Fledging stage of the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight.
This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats.[1][2] For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable condition in the nest, the nestling and fledging stage can be the same. For precocial birds, those that develop and leave the nest quickly, a short nestling stage precedes a longer fledging stage.[3]
A pair of welcome swallow chicks, Hirundo neoxena, taken the day after they fledged.
All birds are considered to have fledged when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. A young bird that has recently fledged but is still dependent upon parental care and feeding is called a fledgling. People often want to help fledglings, as they appear vulnerable, but it is best to leave them alone.[4] The USA National Phenology Network defines the phenophase (or life cycle stage) of fledged young for birds as "One or more young are seen recently departed from the nest. This includes young incapable of sustained flight and young which are still dependent on adults."
In many species, parents continue to care for their fledged young, either by leading them to food sources, or feeding them. Birds are vulnerable after they have left the nest, but before they can fly, though once fledged their chances of survival increase dramatically.[5]
A pigeon fledgling on a tiled floor
One species, the ancient murrelet, fledges two days after hatching, running from its burrow to the ocean and its calling parents. Once it reaches the ocean, its parents care for it for several weeks. Other species, such as guillemots and terns, leave the nesting site while they are still unable to fly. The fledging behavior of the guillemot is spectacular; the adult leads the chick to the edge of the cliff, where the colony is located, and the chick will then launch itself off, attempting to fly as far as possible, before crash landing on the ocean.[6]
^Skutch, A.F. (1976). Parent Birds and Their Young. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292746343.
^Kunz, T. H.; Fenton, M. B. (2005). Bat Ecology. University of Chicago Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN 0226462072.
^Gill, Frank. Ornithology (3rd ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 491.
^"What to do if you find a baby bird".
^Gill, Frank. Ornithology (3rd ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 492.
of survival increase dramatically. One species, the ancient murrelet, fledges two days after hatching, running from its burrow to the ocean and its calling...
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unpartitioned storage as joining its identifier with the top site is impossible. FLEDGE-based will only be allowed to be displayed within Fenced Frames, although...
them their distinctive musty smell. Albatross chicks take a long time to fledge. In the case of the great albatrosses, it can take up to 280 days; even...
average number of young found in nests is 2.5, and the average number that fledge is about 1.5, due to the occasional production of infertile eggs and various...
two weeks, and often at least one parent remains with them, until they fledge, to guard them. Both parents feed the chicks, although early on in the rearing...
breeding season. Fed by regurgitation only from the mother, the chicks fledge about 3 weeks after hatching. The average lifespan of a ruby-throated hummingbird...
incubated over 16–18 days. The young fledge usually between 17 and 21 days after hatching. After the juveniles fledge, the family travels and forages together...
crouch over the young, sheltering but not actually brooding them. Young fledge at 35 to 42 days, and are fed by both parents. They stay with their parents...
The female later joins the male in the task of bringing food. The young fledge in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week more. Hoopoe...
hiding spots are abundant), where the chicks feed themselves. The young then fledge about 31 days after hatching, and breeding first occurs after one year of...
cared for by the female who broods them while they are small. The young fledge when around 19 days of age but stay in the family group for 30–50 days....
parent holds the egg against its brood patch with its wings. The chicks fledge at night. After fledging, the chicks spend the first few years of their...
typically 4–6 mainly buff eggs, which hatch in about 11 days. The chicks fledge in 11–12 days, but are cared for by both adults for some time after leaving...
mid-March and early May. Eggs hatch from mid April to early May, and the young fledge late June to early July. The nest is the largest of any bird in North America;...
being that of the great frigatebird, whose chicks take up to six months to fledge and are fed by the parents for up to an additional 14 months. The chick...
directly on the ground; they hatch after about 17–21 days and the downy chicks fledge in another 16–17 days. The European nightjar feeds on a wide variety of...
eggs, one every other day, which she incubates for 17–23 days. The chicks fledge after 5 weeks. Cockatiels are the only cockatoo species which may reproduce...
last duckling hatches, the brood leaps from the nest cavity. The young fledge at 50–55 days of age. Predators of adults include the peregrine falcon (Falco...
is typically four or five eggs, which hatch in about 13 days. The chicks fledge in around 14 days, but are fed by both adults for several weeks after leaving...
season, abundance of food in a domestic setting, and swift maturity (Squabs fledge in about a month, and often have already bred and fledged a few clutches...
cavity. The female incubates the eggs for about five weeks, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 90 days after hatching and leave their parents about...
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