UAE banded rock pigeon in northern Iran (1 Viewer)

Dear all,

We found 2 banded rock pigeons in northern Iran when we had blood sampling with mist-net for passeriformes, Mazandaran province. There are some questions here:

1- Is there any possibility to having such flyway for mentioned species?
2- Which center or organization in UAE has ringing activities? I could not find anything!

Regards,
Mahmoud

Hi,

The bands look like the type used in the UK by pigeon racers. They are plastic coated bands with the country of origin and the year of hatching for the bird. They usually have a unique serial number on them. When the pigeons race, they are fitted wit a second rubber ring which is used to identify the bird and can be easily removed after the race. I notice the bird in the second picture has a green plastic ring in the leg, I don't know if that is related to racing, but I would imagine it is.
My guess would be the birds are feral. Pigeon racing is popular is Dubai, so the birds have probably originated from there.

Cheers