# White pigeon with crest - what kind is it?



## lilitu93 (Apr 2, 2005)

We feed feral pigeons on our balcony in Central London (don't tell Ken!), and there's a white pigeon that's started coming by who is obviously not a typical feral pidge. S/he is all white, about a third bigger than standard pigeons and has a crest on the back of her head. She's got red eye ceres and a wattle - not a large one, but it's there. The beak/head isn't short like some fancy pigeons. She isn't banded. We've named her Pearl.

No photo yet, but does anyone have any idea what kind of bird she is? I've looked through Extraordinary Pigeons and tried looking on the net but no luck.

Thanks in advance for any help, and I'll post a photo of Pearl when we can take one.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

A pic would be helpful in identifying your little guest.
Is it possible you could capture this little guy? His chances for survival out there are pretty slim.

Reti


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## lilitu93 (Apr 2, 2005)

He's been around for a couple of months according to my husband, and he looks in really good condition, but we'll think about catching him once he trusts us more. One problem is we have a 2 bedroom flat with cockatiels in one room and a cat in the rest of the flat, so we'd have to both keep the other birds away until he was seen by our avian vet and keep him away from the cat.

Hopefully he'll come back now that he knows we feed him (we gave him extra this morning) and I'll try to take a picture.

Is it possible he's someone's pet that is allowed to fly freely during the day? I know some people do that with homing pigeons, but they don't have crests, and you'd probably not want to do that in Central London, I'd think.


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## Matt D. (May 12, 2007)

Does s/he have a band? if not chances have it s/he got lost or is wild, and is free game! so to speak... =(


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## lilitu93 (Apr 2, 2005)

No band, which surprised me. I do sometimes see pigeons that look like 'regular' pigeons but with bands, but I was definitely surprised that this obviously non-feral pigeon didn't have one.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Is there anything else different other than the fact it is white with a crest?
No feathers on the feet?
I'm going to try to gather up some different breeds that might match it.


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## lilitu93 (Apr 2, 2005)

MaryOfExeter said:


> Is there anything else different other than the fact it is white with a crest?
> No feathers on the feet?
> I'm going to try to gather up some different breeds that might match it.


It's about 1/3 bigger than your typical feral pigeon and had red ceres around the eyes (I think that's what it's called). A bit of a wattle (i.e., I could see it) and it didn't have a really short face. No feathers on the legs. The crest was on the back of her neck but not on top of the head and not all the way around or on the chest.

Hope this helps, and if she comes back tomorrow morning, I will try to get a pic, though I may not be able to post it until tomorrow evening.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

American Crests are the first breed that came to mind...they are large with small crests, and no feathers on the feet. The only thing is they don't really have red ceres. I looked through my Pigeon Encyclopedia, but it all confused me, lol. I'll just wait to see if you can get a picture of it. 
I found an interesting breed in the book though. It's called a Lenardo. They only have a crest on the right side of their neck, and it doesn't come up above the head. I thought that was pretty neat :]


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## lilitu93 (Apr 2, 2005)

No photos yet, as Pearl didn't come by and feed on our balcony. She's safe and well, however, as she was hanging out on the building across the way where she normally hangs out.

Hopefully she'll come back to feed and we'll get a picture.


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