The sight of a pink pigeon has caused shock and bemusement in a UK town. It is thought the bird may have been dyed for a wedding or a gender reveal party.
A pink pigeon was spotted at a farm near Exmouth in Devon on Tuesday, June 6, by an onlooker who described it as "a real surprise". Andrew Lamont of Lower Halsdon Farm said: "I think it was dyed however, can't be sure. It was a real surprise when it landed next to me. We are at Lower Halsdon Farm, Exmouth, just by the Exe trail path."
Andrew shared a video and photos of the unusual sighting on the Exmouth Community page on Facebook. Another person claimed they had also spotted a pink pigeon on a roof in the town just a few days prior.
The commenter said: "I saw this on the rooftop of a house in Brixington on the weekend! Thought I was seeing things".
While pigeons with a faint pink hue do exist naturally, they are considered extremely rare and are typically only found in Mauritius, DevonLive reports. In the UK and other countries, it is thought that brightly coloured pigeons are often dyed for the purposes of weddings and other celebrations or for identification purposes.
Dyed pigeons are also known to appear in pigeon racing in some European countries.
Another comment on Andrew's post explained: "You can clearly see that that bird has been dyed. People do this for various reasons, weddings etc and also if there are several pigeon flyers (not racers) around the same area so that can identify their birds In the sky."
Earlier this year, a bird was found malnourished and dyed pink in Madison Square Park in New York, US, thought to have been done for a gender reveal party. Despite best efforts by rescuers, the bird died about a week after it was found.
