# Lost racing pigeon staying with me



## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

An apparent racing pigeon has raced his way onto my deck, where he has been happily enjoying birdseed for a week or so.

I have no problem having him (or her) hang out here, but if there's anything special I should do, or any way to notify his owner (I have a feeling he's not going to win his race  ), please let me know.

Also--can anyone tell if this bird is male or female?


Thanks


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

Can you get its band number and post it?
Only one band ?????????


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

Only one band. I'm going to have to dig out binoculars to see the number.


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## ace in the hole (Nov 27, 2007)

It is not a homing pigeon or racer. The beak is to small/thin and the primary flight feathers are to long. The wings go all the way back to the end of the tail. A homing or racing pigeons wings will only go about 1 inch from the end of the tail. 

Just letting you know what I see.

Ace


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## Airbaby (Aug 9, 2008)

Where do you live? My 2010 babies have blue bands but I do not remember having one exactly like this...but when you raise 80 babies it would be easy to forget one especially if it got lost right away.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

That looks like a highflier.


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## M Kurps (Mar 19, 2009)

Looks like the band fell off in the last pic ???????????
Kurps


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

Nope, the band is still there. I'm in Elkridge, MD, USA.


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## jenfer (Jan 7, 2008)

Elk, does s/he act like a wild pigeon (wary of you; spooking when there's signs of danger), or is s/he rather tame (letting you approach; staying on your porch and never leaving)? If the latter, I would be inclined to bring him indoors where it will be safer for him.


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

Much tamer than any other birds that have been here, but I'm not sure I could get it inside.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2010)

I agree it looks to be a young tippler to me


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

LokotaLoft said:


> I agree it looks to be a young tippler to me


A bad one too, apparently


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

So dove/pigeon breeds aren't immediately identifiable by the way they look?

That's interesting. Every blue jay and cardinal I see here looks exactly like every one I see online!


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2010)

TheElk said:


> So dove/pigeon breeds aren't immediately identifiable by the way they look?
> 
> That's interesting. Every blue jay and cardinal I see here looks exactly like every one I see online!


point is they are easily identifyable and this doesnt look like a bad tippler at all , looks pretty nice to me :s


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

But this apparent tippler looks nothing like the tipplers I see on wikipedia!


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2010)

TheElk said:


> But this apparent tippler looks nothing like the tipplers I see on wikipedia!


you need to look thru more sites then wiki, that is a standard canadian looking tipper look, try this site and you will see this is a very looking typical high flyer http://ftsofusa.tipplers.com/index.html


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2010)

here is another two sites to go thru http://www.tossingtipplers.com/
http://birdsinwhite.com/tipplers/index.html


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

That's the really neat thing about pigeons - they vary, a LOT. There are over 300 different breeds and variations, not to mention all the different colors and combos of colors each breed can come in  A lot of breeds closely resemble others, so that's why it can be difficult sometimes to tell them apart. Another thing to consider is even though two pigeons may be the same breed, they can look very different. Like dogs and chickens, there are standards for most of the breeds. Show standard or not, the birds can still be varying shapes and sizes, especially in the flying breeds, in which showing is not important.

I'm not entirely sure if this is a tippler or not. Either way, I think it's a highflier of some kind. Tipplers are highfliers too, known for staying in the air for long periods of time. Their homing ability isn't reliable, so it's easy for them to end up lost like this one. The guy that tosses his tipplers...well I don't know when the homers were mixed in, whether it be recently or way back. But tipplers/highflyers who home is not normal.
Most tipplers I've seen have smaller, more square heads and shorter beaks. But there are different bloodlines, so perhaps this one could be out of tipplers from somewhere else.


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## JaxRacingLofts (Apr 11, 2010)

If you want to find the birds owner you could get a large cardboard box, a stick and a string and build a simple small animal trap...prop the box up with a small stick "about ruler size" and tie a string to the stick...just feed your friendly little friend some seed under the box once he is under the box and eating pull the string and you now can read his band number and locate his owner.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Best thing you can do for your new friend is keep feeding and watering him/her so he/she will stay around. Unlike Ferals, they aren't all that sly on how to make it in the feral world and she's susceptible to predators and vehicular danger and such. Their chances of making it as a Feral aren't all that great.

Just keep befriending her. If she keeps coming for seed, slowly start leaving the seed closer to the deck door and see if he goes for that. If they feel secure and have a food source, they tend to hang around. You may be able to lure him inside. If not, at least get him used to you being in the immediate vicinity.

It's a tough call. He should really be in, not out. Jaxtech's method above is good, as is a big fishing net. BUT ~ you don't wanna push it too much. If you are insistent and rush it and try for the catch/trap & miss (pigeons are fast and evasive, even domesticated ones) he may take off for good, which would leave him in a far worse situation than currently hanging around someone who is providing food and water.....


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

The number ends in 60, and there may be another digit in front of that.

I hope he or she is safe from predators. The bird is not so tame as to not know when to take off, it's just the bright color and static location that might make it a target. But I've never seen any predators around here. I think my groundhog will leave it alone


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

Tippy's still here. One interesting thing I noticed is that he/she NEVER uses the bird feeder. There's always enough spilt seeds to eat from the deck. It must be used to having been fed that way.


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

Bird Trap
http://www.racingbirds.com/ptrap.html


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

TheElk said:


> Tippy's still here. One interesting thing I noticed is that he/she NEVER uses the bird feeder. There's always enough spilt seeds to eat from the deck. It must be used to having been fed that way.


 hI elk ,That's normal for pigeons they feed on the ground


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## TheElk (Jul 9, 2010)

There's a Baltimore Tippler Union. I'm betting he came from there. I contacted their president...reluctantly...this little guy sure seems happy here


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## ~pigeonlover~ (Jan 14, 2004)

i'd say it is a tippler the color is light print. i have 3 myself and it even has the pearl eye.


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## moein (Mar 18, 2012)

well tippers come in different colors.


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