# pigon recognision



## couchy (Oct 27, 2011)

hello

im couchy prenounced as cowchy

im new here and this forum have helped about 2 weeks ago when i found a feral blue chequered pigeon that couldnt fly in the street, so i managed to catch her keep her warm because it was poring with rain and made sure she had food an water down her, i noticed her wing was flopping down so i binded her wing and kept in my house for a bit then in my shed for about 4 days, i tried getting her to fly she wouldnt but on the 3rd day ieverytime i took her out of the shed she flew back in which was funny at the time. but on the fourth day opened my shed door and got her out and she still flew back into the shed but when i left the door open she walked out then in then out and then she flew onto my roof and then she flew away, i was so happy that she was fit enough to fly from then on i couldnt find her

the only way if i did see her was because one of her tail feathers was missing and it was the middle one and she was quite thin and dull in plumage, also she had a broken back toe.

anyways i found her on the 9th oct and she flew away on the 13th oct

and today a pigeon that looks like my one i rescued im just wondering could this be her or is it a differnt one the thing i did notice with this one it looked fat an all the tail feathers were there and this one did have a tidy big of plumage

the photos of the bird in the cage is the one i rescued and the other photos is the one i saw today.
can you tell if it is her and how long does the tail feathers grow back?


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## couchy (Oct 27, 2011)

here are more pix


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## couchy (Oct 27, 2011)

when i found her she was 6 miles away from where a rehabilitated her

what do u think


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

very difficult to tell as a lot of ferals have very similar markings.
Normally new tail feathers will take about 3 to 6 weeks to come in, that is if the whole feather is removed first, otherwise they wont start to grow till the bird removes the damaged feather or it moults out naturally.
Pigeons are continually cleaning & preening their tails so it is possible the damaged ones have been removed, but 2 weeks isnt really long enough for them to grow back fully.
Also, looking at the last 2 pics again, there is a "split" in the middle between the tail feathers so it is possible it could be the same bird.
6 miles is not a geat deal of distance for a feral to travel, and if it was released away from its home habitat, but still close enough, it may well try to find its own way back. The place you found it originally was probably just one of its foraging haunts, so not nessessarilly its home habitat either.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

As Bob says, some are pretty similar to each other. I don't think in this case it's the same bird, though. The markings have differences, and I believe the iridescence is better grown in with the 'wild' bird. I'd say the 'wild' one is overall bigger and heavier, too.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Cute feral


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## couchy (Oct 27, 2011)

ok thank you ill keep an eye out so if i do see one thats simular to mine with the mille whole feather missing from its tail, it could be?


either way im just glad she is flying and hopefully put on a bit of weight because when i had her she was badly uderweight her breas bone was kinda sticking out


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

my first reaction is that it's not the same pigeon from comparing the feathering. In saying that the one in the first pictures looks like a youngster and they do tend to change in the depth of colour as they mature..so ???
Not sure. They're both lovely looking birds anyway.

You did well helping out the little one all the same. It's great to see them fly off after having been found injured.

I'm sure you'll come across more in need of help now you've got the eye for it.

Thanks for what you did,

Janet


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