The mockingbird was given tiny “snowshows” to help “retrain” its damaged feet. (California Wildlife Centre)
A US wildlife centre has shared its inventive approach to treating an injured bird that could not stand properly.
Last month, the California Wildlife Centre revealed it had given a lame Northern Mockingbird “snowshoes in summer”.
The shoes were crafted from tape and cardboard and were used to help “retrain” the bird’s mangled feet.
The bird had suffered “knuckling”, a condition that rendered it unable to “open her feet to stand or perch”.
“This was causing the bird to have to stand on the tops of her toes which were curled under and causing her additional injury,” the centre explained on its website.
Treatment for knuckling typically involves wearing the “shoes” for a week, during which the birds can still walk “fairly normally”.
Once the knuckling has been corrected, the shoes are removed and the birds are released back into the wild.