Unknown Breed

An unknown breed pigeon is a domestic pigeon, Columba livia, whose breed or strain has not been identified with confidence. Many rescued, found, or unbanded pigeons fall into this category, especially when they are crosses between fancy, utility, racing, and feral lines. Color is rarely enough to name a breed because blue bar, checker, ash red, black, bronze, pied, laced, and other patterns occur across many kinds of pigeons. Body shape, beak length, leg feathering, head ornaments, flight behavior, and any leg band give better clues.

Practical care should start with the needs of a general domestic pigeon: safe housing, clean water, pigeon grain, grit, calcium, and protection from predators and weather. A bird that is tame, unusually marked, or reluctant to fend for itself may be a lost domestic pigeon rather than a street bird. Rescues and owners often photograph the bird from several angles and check bands before placing it. When breed is uncertain, health, temperament, and suitability for the loft matter more than assigning a name.

Colors: Almond, Ash Red, Ash Red Bar, Bar, Barless, Black, Black Laced, Blue, Blue Bar, Blue Checker, Blue Laced, Bronze, Bronze Wing Black, Bronze Wing Blue, Bronze Wing Copper, Bronze Wing Golden, Brown, Brown Laced, Checker, Dark Checker, Dilute, Dun, Gazzi (White Shield Pattern), Grizzle, Indigo, Magnani, Mealy, Mottle, Mottled, Opal, Pied, Recessive Red, Red, Red Bar, Red Checker, Red Laced, Schietti (Self Colored), Silver, Silver Bar, Silver Checker, Splash, Spread, Spread Ash, Sulphur Laced, White, Yellow, Yellow Laced