When do birds leave their nest?

Question

I found 4 baby birds in my backyard with a nest. My siblings play with them from time to time and we put them back in their nest for the mother to feed them. Today, when I checked where they were, they were gone! I asked everyone if they had seen it but they said no. I'm thinking that either it got eaten by a cat or it flew away. Please answer. If you need more information about this problem place it in your answer. I am heartbroken. I am hoping that the birds left instead of it getting eaten.

Answer 1

uhh?....it got tired of the sh**!!...jus messin

LoL or it was old enough to live on it'z own!!.

and it will be back!!...i think...LoL

Answer 2

The baby birds you described are at the fledging stage of their development.  Reasons for this stage is that the babies are learning skills necessary to survive in the wild and fly (not to mention the nest is getting rather cramped).  Mom and Dad bird probably led their babies away from the nest early in the morning before anyone could notice them leaving.  

As a side note, when you see baby birds on the ground first observe them from a distance.  Watch for parent birds returning to feed the baby.  If you don't see any parents returning to feed the baby within an hour, it is probably safe to say that you should collect the bird and take it to the nearest song bird rehabilitator.  

Also, never play with baby birds you see in the wild (yeah, it's kinda silly to think of your back yard as "the wild" eh?).  They are tough, but fragile and could be easily injured.  

And for future reference, should you ever need to transport a song bird to a rehabilitator put the bird in a brown paper bag that has holes poked in it for breathing.  Clip the bag closed and be careful not to shake or drop the bag.