This is the spectacular moment a pigeon fancier released thousands of birds at the start of a race.

The truck full of homing pigeons was set free during a marathon organised by Alliance Pigeon Racing in Bulacan, the Philippines, on July 13.

Footage captured by James Belardo shows an event official opening the cages of the truck, prompting the birds to immediately flap their wings and fly in unison.

James said: 'These pigeons will come back to exactly where they are released.'

The club said they will set another release in Nueva Ecija, 75 miles (120 km) away from Bulacan.

One of the organisers added: 'There are two trucks every Tuesday for loading the birds, and the release is on Wednesday. We release them in the morning when the sun rises. We do it every other day and at different locations.'

The prize fund for the race at the moment is two million PHP (approximately 25,926.06 GBP).

Pigeons are renowned for their homing ability, allowing them to return to the location where they were released, even over long distances. They navigate using a combination of the Earth's magnetic field, the sun, visual landmarks, and scent cues.

Pigeon racing originated in Belgium in 1818, with the first long-distance race covering 99.4 miles (160 km).

(PHP 1 = GBP 0.01296)