Rescuer Spots A 'Little Fluff Ball' On The Ground Then Realizes It’s Alive

He was so small …

Walking through Brighton, Australia, a Good Samaritan noticed a fluffy ball of cotton sitting on the ground near a tree.

Approaching the ball, the passerby was stunned to see that the little puff had legs and a face.

He wasn’t a cotton ball at all — he was a tawny frogmouth chick.

small white chick
Facebook/Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

Putting the pieces together, the Good Samaritan realized the baby must have blown out of a nearby tree. When a search for the family proved fruitless, the rescuer decided to take the little bird to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

“The rescuer was not able to locate his parents or nest, so [they] brought him to us,” a representative from the sanctuary told The Dodo.

Safe at the sanctuary, the bird, later named Pod, was fed and measured on a small scale.

tiny chick on scale
Facebook/Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

The sanctuary later posted Pod’s photos to Facebook, writing, “Can you tell what this cute little fluff ball is?”

Tawny frogmouths are birds native to Australia and Tasmania who are often mistaken for owls because of their large heads, nocturnal lifestyle and brown coloring. This dappled hazel color makes it easy for the birds to blend in among the tree branches where they live. According to The Australian Museum, frogmouth parents build nests out of loose piles of sticks and, once their babies are born, will both take turns sitting on their nest to keep the eggs warm.

two tawny frogmouth birds
Getty Images

Pod will live at the sanctuary until he’s big enough to thrive on his own, at which point he will be safely released back into the wild.

Though his story began in a rocky place, thanks to the quick thinking of a Good Samaritan, Pod will soon be back in the trees, where he belongs.

To help other animals like Pod, make a donation to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary here