A PAIR of baby wood pigeons are being cared for after their nest was accidentally destroyed by a member of the public.

The birds arrived at the National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fishcross and are now being cared for by a dedicated team from the Scottish SPCA.

Georgina Cook, assistant manager at the centre, said: “These two pigeons have joined others the same age in a brooder to keep them warm.

“Once their feathers begin to come in and they get a bit bigger, they will be a moved to a cage without heat where we will encourage them to become more independent and feed for themselves.

“Right now, our bird team are tube feeding them a specialist formula to replicate how their parents would feed them in the wild – wood pigeon adults grind down food into a milk substance which they then feed to their young.

“Sadly, we are seeing an increase in baby pigeons being uplifted due to trees being cut back in gardens.

“Wood pigeons do not make the best nests compared to other bird species so it is very easy for the youngers to be knocked out of them.

“We’d ask the public to check any bushes or trees carefully before they carry out any gardening to prevent bird nests from being disturbed.

“If anyone finds an animal in distress, they should call our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”

More advice on birds can be found on the charity’s website at scottishspca.org/advice/birds.