182 1'IGKOXS AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



Saddles Black, Blue, Red and Yellow. The two former 

 to be dark tailed; the two latter to be dark or light tailed. 

 Head markings A snip or blaze up front of face, with a full 

 white beard extending from back of eye to back of eye under 

 beak, forming a bib; with the dark patches running pear 

 shaped into it from the centre of lower mandible, the latter 

 called whiskers. In addition, a dot over each eye about the 

 size of a hemp seed, with a white band extending around, 

 with the exception of a heart shape on the back, which is 

 dark, giving the bird the name. 



Badges Same as Saddles except body color, which should 

 be dark except foot feathering and ten lower flights which 

 should be white. Head marks same as Saddles. 



Regarding tiie breeding for "markings," of Mottles and 

 Rosew r iiigs, F. H. McCardie says 



"The tendency of strong healthy birds of good color is to 

 throw birds with less markings than themselves. The ten- 

 dency of a weak and inbred strain, or unhealthy birds is to 

 produce plenty of markings. If you can get a strong healthy 

 bird gaily marked on the wings only, that is the bird on 

 which you can found the markings of your strain. Inexper- 

 ienced fanciers would throw such a bird out, instead of 

 treasuring it as it deserved. This, paired to a short marked 

 bird, a self marked-bred is the most likely way to breed a 

 well marked bird. 



Two short-marked or standard marked birds are most like- 

 ly to breed selfs, unless closely related and gaily bred. 



It. is the most successful plan to pair so as to strike an 

 average rather than trying to get like to produce like. 



Do not breed too much for one point, but keep the general 

 average improving. The value of the different points is 

 about equal, and a bird perfect in one point and poor in the 



