Sad reason pigeon has turned blue, with RSPCA warning

Locals are baffled by sightings of a bright blue pigeon – with experts issuing a warning. Residents of Maidenhead in Berkshire are mystified after the blue pigeon was spotted wandering the streets.

Simon Bryson, 35, snapped several pictures after noticing its “peculiar” markings. He said: “I thought it looked quite peculiar – I’d never seen a pigeon that colour before. I got closer and managed to get a few pictures of it. When it opened its wings, I thought it was really impressive. ‘I’d heard of people dyeing pigeons before, but the inside of its wings were done so intricately.

“People were saying it might have been spray dyed, but I work in car body repairs, and I’ve never seen anyone manage to spray a car like that, let alone the wings of a pigeon. It seemed like it was almost supposed to be that colour. It looked like it had a collar on it, so it must belong to somebody.

“I’m not quite sure whose it is – it looks like it’s owned by somebody. It might be a racing pigeon or something. I shared some pictures on the local Facebook group and asked if anyone had ever seen a pigeon that colour before, or if anyone had spotted it in the local area.

“It garnered a lot of interest – a lot of people commented and reacted. A lot of people got in contact with me and said they’d seen it too. I’ll be very interested to find out where it’s come from – I think that’s what everyone is scratching their heads about at the moment!”

The bird, a vibrant blue, with pink and yellow colours on the inside of its wings, is currently thought by wildlife experts to have been dyed as part of a ‘gender reveal’ announcement. Rebecca Machin, from the RSPCA’s wildlife team, told the BBC that dye and paints can be toxic to birds – and feared that social media trends were encouraging the behaviour.

“Dye and paints can be toxic to birds and other animals, and they would be likely to try to clean any such substance from their coat or feathers which could result in them swallowing it,” she said.

“We suspect this pigeon’s feathers have been painted – something we seem to be hearing about more and more, including – anecdotally – at events like gender reveal parties.”