Italian POW’s in Gulag

[Anglian22]

Some years ago I read an article about a migrating bird that was shot by a hunter in Italy. The hunter found a capsule on the birds leg, opened it and found a small piece of paper in it. It was in Italian and the bird had migrated from Siberia to the warmer climes of Italy.
The note was a plea for help from an Italian prisoner of war in the Gulag who and who was in a desperate situation.
The story was hashed up in postwar Italy as the Communist authorities of the region didn’t want any bad press about the USSR.
I’ve been searching online for months and can’t find the source for this article and have long forgotten where I read it. It’s a long shot, but has anyone else heard of this story and possibly got a link?

[Phaing]

Is that all you have?
The text of the message might be helpful.

[Anglian22]

Yes I’m afraid so. The only bit I can remember is what he said about the guards “ - devils with slitty eyes” or similar.