Deciphering Pigeon Tags/Rings. Er, and how to re-home a homing pigeon.

[Flimber]

A pigeon has been in our garden all morning, just wandering. It's ringed on both legs. I've finally just placed him/her into a cardboard box with some papershreddings inside and am giving it some chillout time in the back porch. What shall I do next ? How can I look up the tag info online ?

Mike.

[Sonic67]

Reminds me of this urban legend:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/edibles/washbiol.asp

[Ed Selley]

http://www.pigeonbasics.com/lostbirds.php

I guess if you contact them, they can reference it against events held this weekend and see if any are missing. No idea if it actually works.

Or you can do a "Speckled Jim."

[Billo]

Try this web site
http://www.rpra.org/Default.aspx?tabid=100

[Miyazaki]

Pigeon breasts make a delicious meal with a spot of salad.

[Flimber]

Originally Posted by Games Guru

Pigeon breasts make a delicious meal with a spot of salad.

Not for us vegetarians they don't

Contacted all my local 'fanciers'. Getting it sorted ASAP.

FAO anyone else in this predicament: there's a convention in place to stencil contact details under the wing feathers. However, getting the creature to stay still enough to read them is another matter Took a digipic and read it that way

Mike.

[Crocodile]

Had this a few years back. Traced the bird's owner through RPRA & he was around 40 miles away. Rather than come & get it he wanted it couriered to him via a service that the RPRA provide. No way I was going to do that so as the bird was apparently healthy after a rest, I released it to live with the local feral population at Dedham Mill.

[Flimber]

Turned out the owner lived about two miles away but the bird had travelled 300 miles from Cornwall. Probably got lost in bad weather and decided to recharge in our garden; gave it a bowl of maize (popcorn), uncooked rice and lentils and it was well happy. Owner arrived to pick it up pretty quickly and gave our "babbies some money for't spice". That's Yorkshire for you

Mike.