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Prized racing pigeon sells for $1.4 million

BELGIUM — If you were a multimillionaire, what would you spend your money on? A bird? One Chinese buyer recently did just that at an auction to purchase the nearly 5-year-old bird.

Pigeon racing has become increasingly popular in China, so the buyer bid more than $1.4 million for a prized Belgian racing pigeon named Armando. Armando will now get to settle down to a quiet retirement full of breeding opportunities.

The website that organized the sale, PIPA, said Armando is considered to be the best long-distance racing pigeon "of all time." The bird has been dubbed by some as the Lewis Hamilton of racing pigeons, in reference to the Formula One racing driver.

The price spike came in the final hours of bidding, as two Chinese fanciers kept one-upping each other. PIPA said the price went from about $600,000 to $1.4 million in about an hour.

PIPA says Armando is the most expensive bird ever to be sold at auction, by a huge margin.

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