Assisted Living-bird style

There are many stories of animals helping to care for one another.  
This was the first time I ever saw a bird caring for another adult bird 
which was not one of her own offspring.  
One winter with a moderate snowfall, ( a couple of feet in upstate New York) there seemed to be an unusual number and variety of birds coming to the feeders.  Among them were many ground feeders
who were finding it harder than would ordinarily be the case to locate
a source of seeds.  So we put out a large flat tray with a few small holes punched in it to allow for melting snow water to drain.  We nailed the tray to a windowsill and filled it with black oil sunflower seed.  Black oil sunflower seeds seem to be preferred by almost all variety of seed eating birds.  Also they are large enough not to fall through the drain holes.  The large flat surface encouraged birds who normally fed on the ground and who did not eat from the typical seed feeder to land there.  For a time it seemed that all the birds preferred the tray to the hanging feeders thus it required restocking several times a day.  Which meant the seed level was monitored often.
That is how I came to see the arrival of the Evening Grosbeaks.  Handsome black, gold and white (the female a silvery gray and yellow) with short, thick, heavy beaks, they stood out from the crowd
of other birds dressed in their subdued winter colors.  Their beaks are perfectly designed for cracking the thick shells of seeds.  That is as long as the beak is in it's original design.  One afternoon as I checked the tray I watched, fascinated, as I saw a male Grosbeak sitting quietly not attempting to pick up seed.  The upper half of his beak was missing, perhaps broken off when he caught it in something and struggling to free himself, broke off a section of his beak   The inside of his mouth with his little, thick, fat tongue was exposed.  No way he could possibly live much longer for he could not pick up, much less crack a seed.  Shortly after the injured bird alit on the tray he was followed by another perfectly normal female Grosbeak.  She selected a seed, cracked it and swiftly swallowed it.  The male moved a bit closer to her.  She turned towards him and noted the strange beak. Then she picked up another seed, cracked it, separated the hull from the nut, and placed it on the tongue of the male, who gulped it down. She returned to feeding herself.  The male hopped up and down a bit emulating a baby bird.  The female once again fed him.  This went on until both had had their fill and they flew away, each in a different direction!
For several weeks while the flock stayed in our vicinity, we watched as the pair returned each afternoon.  The female continued to feed the damaged male, who no longer needed to hop to get her attention.
The Evening Grosbeaks all left our area at one time, the male joining the flock with his female aide in attendance.  I never saw them again.
I doubt that they had been a pair or that the male was one of that female's offspring.  I think they met that day on the feeding tray when
she realized he needed help.  I realize this sounds as though I am projecting human thought to a bird, yet I cannot explain it any other way.  We humans could learn so much from the birds.