A supposed racing pigeon from Alabama has been saved from death row upon the discovery the bird’s heritage was not all it seemed.

The pigeon, dubbed ‘Joe’ by the Melbourne man who rescued it, was wearing a fake tag which caused it to be mistakenly identified as a foreign arrival, set to be destroyed by biosecurity officials.

‘Joe’ was also found to be a Turkish tumbler, not a racing pigeon, the difference being “a couple of thousand dollars” according to pigeon expert Kevin Waters.

Mr Waters told Ray Hadley he was always “very, very skeptical” of Joe’s story.

“That pigeon couldn’t fly from Pyrmont to my place, so if you were waiting for it to come home you’d be waiting a long time!”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Nine News