William McVicker sent some really cool photos of an odd pigeon he'd been seeing at his base just north of Tikrit. It has weirdly feathered feet, and after doing some research, he figures it must be a Trumpeter Pigeon. These are not strong-flying birds, and not used in races. They're also pretty high-maintenance, so it's very likely this bird escaped or was released from a fairly wealthy pigeon fancier's flock. That makes it somewhat likely that the bird was actually one of Saddam Hussein's birds. Interesting! The photos and video that William sent are all on the new William McVicker pigeon gallery, which is also linked on my Iraq Birds Photo Gallery.