Author: Jessica Leigh Hester / Source: Atlas Obscura
In many cities around the world, feral pigeons are a dime a dozen. They roost on roofs, they coo from wires, and they peck outside bakeries, waiting for day-old handouts.
Pigeons that are domesticated and bred for racing are birds of a fancier feather—and one buyer recently shelled out $1.4 million to add a little guy named Armando to their roster of winged competitors.The Belgian breeder Joël Verschoot put Armando up for sale on the pigeon auction site PIPA, where several bidders scrambled to nab him. When bidding closed on March 18, 2019, Armando’s price had inched above €1.2 million (more than $1.4 million, in U.S. dollars). Seven of Armando’s offspring were also up for sale, and they’ll fan out across Belgium, Turkey, Germany, The Netherlands, and China. Armando will be heading to China, too, where the sport of pigeon racing has boomed in recent years. On the mainland, where most forms of gambling are prohibited, pigeon racing gets a pass, and there…
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