Someone has painted a live baby dove pink. He died after inhaling the poison.

flamingo Bright pink dove The cat, which spread last week after it was found to be malnourished in a New York City park, died, most likely from the dye that was used to cover it up, the Wild Bird Trust said.

The fund, which received the bird after it was found, said it died on Tuesday.

The bird in question was a domestic king pigeon that the Wild Bird Fund suspected was dyed pink and later released.

“Pigeons come in different colors and plumage, but pink is not among them,” said the Rehabilitation and Education Center after obtaining the bird. “…this poor bird suffers bad enough as a pet bird being unable to find food in the wild, fly well, or escape predators, but being bright and unusual in color makes it even more of a target.”

The fund said that at the time the bird was found it showed signs of “long-term malnutrition”. While the group tried to take care of the animal, on Tuesday they announced that the flamingo had died.

“Despite our best efforts to reduce fumes from the tincture, while keeping him calm and stable, he died in the night,” the group said. “We believe his death was caused by poison inhalation.”

It’s unclear what specific dye was used on the bird, but the group suspects it may have been hair dye and said on Twitter that regardless of the type of dye, birds are particularly sensitive to the fumes. They have tried several times to remove the color using several different methods.

The group finally said, “Birds are very sensitive to certain fumes, and this one is basically living inside a cloud. We’re also concerned about him ingesting the chemical through preparation. His condition is frail, and he’s struggling to keep food down.” Adding that they were using heat, oxygen, subcutaneous fluids and medication to treat it.

In a Twitter thread, the fund went on to say that the flamingo was likely a domestic bird raised for food. When they found him, the group said, he was “malnourished, barely growing as an infant and had no survival skills.”

They added that “even without the added sophistication of the poisonous dye, it would not have survived in the city garden as a helpless white bird.” “… ‘Dove’ sounds romantic, but take away the decorations and Instagram photos, and it’s the equivalent of tossing your helpless pets on the side of the road. That’s no way to celebrate anything.”

According to Pigeon Rescue PalomacyDomestic royal pigeons are raised for food and are naturally “pure white with pink beaks”. It’s not uncommon for people to release them into the wild thinking it’s for their own good, the organization said, but because they’re domesticated, they face “certain death in the wild.”

And while this little pigeon’s fate may be sealed, the Wild Bird Trust hopes his story will help raise awareness of domestic birds.

“We were guessing (hopefully) that he would be upset by doing this to see how much damage he did to this bird,” the group said. “…we’ve received an outpouring of questions and goodwill, and we hope his story can help spark more awareness and compassion.”