YOU may have heard of Pink Panthers but pink pigeons?

Photographer David Monteith spotted this bird in Lister Park, Manningham, and said he had never seen one before.

The bird looks like a normal feral or racing pigeon except for the odd pink rinse.

Mr Monteith speculated that it had been sprayed: "I met another couple and they said the same thing 'Has it been sprayed'. I could not say for sure but an amazing thing to see if it is true.

"At one point when it flew away and the wing span and it’s fanned tail wasn’t just pink but had shades of white on wings and tail. But all this happened so fast too.

"I could not say for sure if someone has done this as a practical joke and it's bad for the bird."

"I guess I could not say for sure if it was sprayed but looked OK and happy while feeding."

The RSPCA said that they were concerned that someone could have painted the pigeon's feathers which could cause health problems while the RSPB said it might be an escaped pet.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “We’d be concerned by the possibility that someone may have intentionally painted the pigeon’s feathers. This is very worrying as it could cause health problems, impair their ability to fly and make them more vulnerable to predators.

“Dye and paints can be toxic to birds and 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.

“If you spot an animal or bird in distress, call the RSPCA’s 24-hour emergency hotline on 0300 1234 999 for advice or to request help from an officer.”

A spokesperson for the RSPB said: "We have had reports of pink pigeons in the past. They are most likely escaped pets that have been purposely dyed pink.

"Pigeon owners are said to dye their pigeons pink believing they are protecting them from birds of prey. The idea is that the bird of prey will be unable to see them as clearly, although the evidence of whether this works is weak."

The pictured bird looks like the feral pigeons it is standing next to but there are pink pigeons in the wild. They live on Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and are very rare.