If superyachts seem to clichéd and don’t rock your boat these days, you may want to join the growing ranks of the world’s wealthy turning their spending to the latest status symbol – the racing pigeon. One of these birds – famously described by filmmaker Woody Allen as “rats of the sky” was purchased this month by a Chinese buyer at a Belgium auction for a sky-high $200,000, while a 218-bird colony fetched $1.8m at the same auction, according to The Wall Street Journal’s The Wealth Report blog. [http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/ ]

Blue Prince's lofty $200,000 price set a new world record for pigeon sales, apparently, in a sign of auction bidders' appreciation of his highly pedigreed Belgian racing pigeon status. Pigeon racing has taken off in Asia, particularly China, and has spawned big, sponsored racing events that can bring hefty pay days for the winners.