how would I find the owner of a lost racing pigeon

I was able to find a racing pigeons owner thru the band info, but unfortunately "Pidgy" died. We gave him a royal burial.

The pigeon may have been on a long trip and is thirsty and tired or he may even be sick or injured. He'll need a safe place (cat carrier), food and water so he can to recuperate and rest up for several days to a week. By then maybe you can contact the owner for further instructions. Many are very gentle and may like to be picked up and stroked on the head for a bit. Make sure to wash your hands after any contact.

Bands registered by The American Racing Pigeon Union use a specific format. Once you understand how to read the band number, you will find it easy to locate the club that issued the band on their Band List page.

Band numbers are in a series of letters & numbers as shown below.

EXAMPLE= the band may read-->AU 99 ABC 1234

(1) - AU - is the national organization that has registered the bird, in this case the American Racing Pigeon Union, Inc. The band can also have IF, CU, ATB, NBRC, or IPB in this position.

(2) - 99 - is the year the bird was hatched and banded/registered.

(3) - ABC - is a letters representing the pigeon club the band is registered to (no two clubs have the same registration letters - and they have one, two or three letters).

(4) - 1234 - A one-up number unique to each pigeon based on the club letters. Now that you understand how to read the band, you can go back to our band list to find the club that the bird you found belongs to.