Now you see it... Now you don't!

This was supposed to be a happy post. It's not going to be.

Remember on Christmas Eve when I found one of my birds wounded on the floor of my cage and that it died later that day? Well, I figured out why it died.

The next day one of the other birds went near the white Zebra Finches nest and was viciously attacked by several of the white finch family. The mother and father bird have alternately been in the nest non-stop for a couple of weeks and I knew there were babies in there. Thank God no birds were hurt in this attack.

For a couple of weeks I've waited patiently for a glimpse of the new baby birds.

Yesterday morning I went to feed the birds and I saw one of the smaller birds on the bottom of the cage. It didn't look sick, but it couldn't fly. The big problem was... I couldn't identify it! It didn't look like any of my birds and I confirmed that they were all present and accounted for.
It was the new baby! But it was so big and it wasn't white at all.

I checked in the nest and it was empty except for one egg that was a little broken. I picked up the little baby and it was so sweet and curious in my hand. Not afraid or timid at all. I placed it back in the nest and it stood on the edge for the rest of the day and watched the other birds coming and going. One of the parents went back in the nest and I was sure that the baby would not be abandoned and would grow up fine, like his brothers and sisters.

Then something really bizarre happened.

I went to feed the birds today and I checked the nest for the baby Zebra finch. It wasn't in there. I checked the floor of the cage and it hadn't fallen there. I checked the other 3 nests, the plants, the food bowls, the water dish, the gravel tray outside the cage. Then I emptied all of the nesting materials from each of the nests. Finally, I checked the floor in the living room, where the cage sits, and the kitchen, foyer and family room. No baby bird. The crushed egg was gone too.

WHAT THE FUCK?

I thought that maybe the birds decided to reject it and eat it as a midnight snack, but there were no bones, or beak, or legs, or feathers, or ANYTHING! Surely they would have at least left the feathers.

I would think that I was just plain crazy, but, thank God, I had taken a bunch of photos of the baby when I found it and even some in the nest when I put it back. I posted one of the photos above. I don't have a fucking clue what happened at this point. All I do know is that I feel really sad about it. That bird was so cute and pure and sweet.