# I've found a turtle dove (I think!) - what shall I do?



## Luis D (Dec 29, 2009)

Above is Snowy, who I came across as I was returning home one day from doing the shopping. Approaching my local Tesco's (BBC Media Village, White City), I saw Snowy approaching from the opposite direction. She (at least, I _think_ Snowy's a she) walked in ahead of me and stood before the till nearest the door, in front of a queue of people who cooed with delight on seeing such a pretty little bird. As I bent down to pick her up, however, Snowy flew out of my reach, alighting on the counter of the Krispy Kreme doughnut stand a few feet away! At this point I darted forward and caught her - and brought her home. She appeared healthy and was able to fly; however, checking her over, I noticed some tiny red spots under one of her wings, which made me suspect a close shave with a predator of some kind. 
Well, that was about a month ago, and though Snowy remains perfectly well, I'm loathe to let her go, as she seems so clueless and is incredibly easy to catch! Even on the rare occasions she escapes her cage, it only takes me a few seconds to recapture her! This, combined with the fact that she walked into Tesco's and mingled with the shoppers without a care in the world, makes me wonder if she's an escaped pet of some sort. Yet she has no band around her leg... Advice on what to do with this beautiful bird (as well as an expert opinion on what breed of bird she _is_) would be greatly appreciated. My wife and I would of course love to keep her and would only ever give her up if it meant that she could be with others of her own kind in a bird sanctuary or similar.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

*Any fancy pigeon people know what 'Snowy' is?*

Well done - definitely the right thing to do, as she is so easy to catch. 

Not a Turtle Dove, but looks like some kind of fancy breed or a mixture with fancy pigeon in her parentage. I'm not familiar with most fancy breeds, though.

A pic, or more detail, of these red spots would be useful - could be left over from a brush with something, could be an ongoing thing.

She sounds like she is used to close human contact, so we'll have to check if there's anywhere a pigeon who may get in trouble 'out there' could have a permanent home with others.

John


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Best will be to keep her as pet or find her loving home.


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

She's a fancy pigeon and definitely needs to be kept as a pet; she isn't likely to survive in the wild. I can't see enough of her to ID the breed but she is shield-marked. Nice little bird. Thank you for picking her up, Luis. Hopefully our UK members can help you find a home for her if you can't keep her.


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## Pigeon lower (Oct 23, 2007)

Kinda of looks like a figurita


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

and a partridge in a pear tree


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

She's beautiful, I'm so glad you picked her up.

I hope you can find a forever home for her so she'll be safe from now on.

Good luck,

Janet


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

?????????/figurita cross?


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## Luis D (Dec 29, 2009)

Wow - thanks so much for all the inarrest - I'm so pleased I registered with PigeonTalk - you are one cool bunch of people! 
@ John D: I'm afraid those spots are long gone - you could be right, though, when you suggest they might be the result of brushing...
@ pigeon lower (should that be lover?) and yopigeonguy: thanks for the suggestions as to what Snowy might be - looks like you could be right! 
@ Birdmom4ever: I'll take a few more detailed shots and post 'em later today - maybe then you can ID Snowy?
If anyone can think of a permanent home for Snowy, I'd really appreciate it - with a cat in the flat, Snowy spends almost all her time in her cage, and it's clear she's not at all happy with the arrangement... Besides which, we've a feral pigeon called Bella in another cage right next to Snowy's, and Bella's feeling tremendous jealousy at having to share the flat with another bird! We would keep 'em in separate rooms, but unfortunately we just haven't got the space...


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## Luis D (Dec 29, 2009)

Just to let you all know - we've successfully identified Snowy - she'a a figarita! Not a perfect one, though - she's missing the crest from her head, and the crest on her chest isn't properly formed. And it's this that tells me how I came to find her wandering the streets (well, the aisles of Tesco's, anyway...  )... Pauline and I believe that Snowy was raised by a breeder of showbirds, who on discovering Snowy to be an imperfect specimen of the breed (and therefore worthless from his point of view) decided to get rid of her. Evidently, he waited till she was fully grown, then removed the band from her leg and set her free - to perish. He must have known Snowy didn't stand a chance outside - and it's the fact that I first saw Snowy walking ahead of me into Tesco's, where she stood at the feet of the couple standing by the nearest till, looking up at them expectantly, that tells me she was raised by humans. She knew enough to associate humans with food - and no more. Anyway, that's that little mystery solved - if anyone can think of a suitable sanctuary for this beautiful little bird, however, do let me know...


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

I think you may be right about Snowy being dumped. We have a very sweet tumbler with blue/gray eyes and feathered feet who was dumped. The owner left the band on, so was traceable, but said the bird's neck would be wrung if it came back. So 'Bootsie' is now an adopted pigeon.

John


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## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

Probably the band was removed to make the owner untraceable.

Have you tried putting both birds together? Maybe it's not a good idea since a figurita is smaller than your standard feral, but you could try to see if they get along. Mines get nervous if separated.


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

Good bird and nice posture []


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Luis D said:


> if anyone can think of a suitable sanctuary for this beautiful little bird, however, do let me know...


Good job, Luis! I'm bumping this up so members know that we need to find a home for this lovely little pigeon.

Terry


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Luis,

Can you check with this board before making a final decision? Because she is a fancy pigeon and a tame one she needs a special environment (IMO), where there are fewer pigeons and more human attention.

Can you send her story and a picture to the Hillside Sanctuary? 

http://www.hillside.org.uk/

They have a limit to the number of pigeons they have but I believe they have another aviary at a new site, they might consider having a small "display" of fancy pigeons and doves.

Cynthia


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## Georgina (Jun 24, 2008)

Awwhh! She's cute 

Ummm, I can offer her a home if it would be possible to get her down this far....

I have 12 mixed breed pigeons - two of which are handreared so I am all too familiar with the daily catch and contain routine!  

I'm not really sure how she'd get down here though (the Isle of Wight) especially with the current weather situation. 

I'm sure it would be possible to work something out although obviously if an easier option presents itself, best go with that one...


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## Georgina (Jun 24, 2008)

Oh, by the way, I'm a right nonce for forgetting where the threads I've written on are so best to PM me! LOL!


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