i:j<J PIGEONS AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



THE MAGPIE. 



IF I were asked as to the most popular bird among the toy 

 pigeons I think I would answer ''the Magpie." 

 It seems to me that in the breeding of no other toy, is 

 there so much rivalry. 



The Magpie does not rely on its beautiful marking alone, 

 but it must have head and beak, neck, body, and leg proper- 

 ties, and so close is the competition, and to such a fine point 

 are Magpies bred, that I have seen long discussions, as to 

 which of two crack birds had the best beak or head, etc 

 All sorts of authorities have been hunted up, to show just 

 which bird approached most nearly to the standard in this 

 one point, all others being equal. 



I suppose there are few of my readers that do not know 

 just how the Magpie is marked. 



The wings are white, and so is the breast, and its markings 

 are nearly the reverse of those of many other toys. For 

 while the Swallow or the Turbit may take its class name 

 from the color of its wings, the Magpie takes it from the 

 color of its breast and back, its wings being always white, as 

 is the lower part of its body. 



The Magpie is bred chiefly in blacks, reds and yellows, but 

 there are also duns, silvers and blues. These latter colors 

 will, however never be as popular as the first three, for in 

 the first three the color line is sharply accentuated, and that 

 that is one of the chief beauties of the bird. 



But, as stated, to get the perfect Magpie we begin with the 

 head, which must be long and slender, and with a delicate 

 beak of the same type, to match it. And we must not stop 

 there, for this same slenderness must govern the entire body, 

 and affect, even t he tail. It is emphatically a narrow bird : 



