Can Sparrows carry their young if they fall from the nest?

Question

I have seen two instances where baby birds (once a bluejay and now a sparrow) were moved from unlikely places. I want to know if the parents carry them between them or if I am mistaking the evidence because it seems like these baby birds were flown... in one case back up to the nest, and in the other up to much higher in the rhodedendron bush we had placed the baby in. In both cases, the parents were notably present, and when we came back the babies had been moved.

Answer 1

No. Sparrows and other birds can't carry their babies back to the nest. There is only one bird I know of that can carry it's chicks under it's wings, and that is the Jacana Bird, which is a bird that lives around water.

What you would be seeing, with the birds that have gone back into the trees, are young birds that climb back up the trees themselves. Young birds normally leave the nest before they are capable of flying, and the parents will continue to feed them when they are on the ground or in shrubs/trees, etc..

I have seen a lot of baby birds that have left the nest climb around in trees before they can fly properly. They can climb and flap their way back up trees quite effectively sometimes, although it can be scary to watch as they often look as though they're about to fall.

So, yep, I think that's what you have seen...young birds that are climbing around by themselves.

Hope that helps.