562.434.0141 - 379 Newport Ave Ste. 302 Long Beach, CA90814

A concerned citizen brought us a Western Tanager whose leg had been broken and entangled with a long length of thread. It probably broke its leg trying to escape from something all this thread had caught on but we’ll never know for sure.

After examining this beautiful critter, we determined the only problems it had were the broken leg and thread.  Using a small pair of scissors, we removed the thread and then proceeded to make a splint for its Tibia (similar to a human’s shin bone).  After a couple of weeks the bone had healed and the Tanager was released back into his natural environment.

The Western Tanager is quite common in our area .  It is widespread from the western Alaskan panhandle to northern Baja, preferring to winter in Mexico and central America; now there's a bird after my own heart.  The Western Tanager prefers to eat insects, but also feeds on  berries and other small fruits (depending on the season).