Sombrero-wearing pigeon in Reno adds new twist to hatted bird caper

A sighting of a pigeon wearing a small sombrero has been reported in Reno, demonstrating that no pigeon in the Silver State is safe from unwanted headgear.

Reno City Manager Sabra Newby tweeted about the bird Wednesday after she spotted it during a ride-along with parking enforcement.

A pair of hat-wearing Las Vegas pigeons drew national attention last month after a video showing them pecking their way through a parking lot was posted online. A third bird was later added to the posse after being spotted by pigeon rescuers.

The rescuers jumped into action, staking out a parking lot near UNLV for weeks to catch two of the behatted birds and free them of their fashionable, but highly impractical, headgear.

Pigeons may look cute wearing perfectly proportioned hats, but the hats make the birds more vulnerable to predators and the glue used to attach the hats can hurt them, according to the rescuers.

When one of the Las Vegas pigeons, dubbed Cluck Norris, was captured, his rescuers discovered that the glue used to attach a small red cowboy hat to his head had ripped out a portion of his feathers.

Billie the Pidge, a former hat-wearing pigeon, died this week while in the care of Lofty Hopes pigeon rescue. The group said she was weak and suffering from other health problems when she was captured.

A third member of the Las Vegas flock, named “Coolamity Jane” by the rescuers, remains at large.

As of Thursday it was unclear if any Reno rescue groups were searching for the sombrero-clad bird, but even without human intervention, the hat will likely eventually fall off as the pigeon molts.

Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0365. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.