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Re: Lost Pigeon?

From:

Robert Ostrowski

Reply-To:

Robert Ostrowski

Date:

Fri, 22 May 2009 13:29:26 -0400

Colin,

There is a chance that your pigeon is a lost racing pigeon. I came across one myself last winter. I called a local rehabilitator, thinking the bird was injured or ill, but it was deemed that it was a lost racing pigeon. They often appear "out of it" because you are seeing them during what may be there first time in the wild and/or they are disoriented. They are also usually very tame, having been handled by humans for a long time.

You may find this website helpful: http://www.pigeon.org/lostbirdinfo.htm

I can't think of any other reason why it may be banded, other than it being banded at a banding station in the interest of science. I don't know anything about how often Rock Doves are banded at stations though - just a guess. 

I'm not going to advocate one way or the other on what you should do with it either. On principal, I don't believe in caging birds for any reason, except for necessary rehabilitation or if the species is in extreme danger of going extinct. If you find someone to take it in, it will be caged in some capacity. On the other hand, it may not be able to survive long in the wild and returning it to captivity may be the best thing. This is one of the many unfortunate situations that result from man's relationship with birds. I'm not going to pretend to make this judgment. I just wanted to provide some information. Hope this helps!


Robert Ostrowski
Bowie