A young white dove has turned pink after falling from its nest into a barrel of pigment powder.
Wildlife rescuers were deployed to a factory, in Cricklade, after a worker discovered the bird flitting around on Tuesday, October 12.
The dove, now nicknamed Pinky, was taken to the North Wiltshire RSPCA’s Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue.
It is expected to remain a terracotta colour for several months, after it was found a bath only made it brighter.
One of Pinky’s siblings had also fallen from the nest on the factory site but had died before rescues could try and save it.
Deputy manager Anj Saunders said: “He must have had quite an ordeal that day because when I opened the bag he was in and started triaging, he quickly hopped up my arm and went to sleep on my shoulder.
“Our primary concern after the initial triage for Pinky was that the dye could cause problems and we did research the ingredients which thankfully were non-toxic”, she commented.
“He is supposed to be a white dove so this should come back through gradually over the next few weeks.”
