104 1'KiKONS AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



tends to thighs, legs and feet, and also takes in the flights. 



In Blacks and Blues the color extends to ends of tail, and 

 the Blues should have black bars on wings. 



In all the pied birds the head is colored, albo the neck and 

 back, the wing coverts and the crop, except the "crescent'' 

 which is a baud of white of the shape of a new moon or cres- 

 cent which passes around the front of the crop, and reaches 

 nearly to the eyes. 



The "bib" as the colored patch is called, comes down from 

 the throat, and forms the upper part of the crescent, and it 

 should be large and sharp. 



On the shoulders should be a small circular patch of white 

 feathers, called the "rose," or "rose pinion," but these 

 should be on the shoulder, and not begin on the wing butt. 



There are white Pouters, but no solid Blacks, Blues, Reds 

 or Yellows. In factthe only self colored Pouter is the white. 

 The pieds run in black, blue, red and yellow, which are the 

 standard colors, but there are also Splashes, Checquers, 

 Sandies, Mealies, and Silvers, which are called "off-colored" 

 varieties. 



In blacks and blues the beak is dark ; in yellows it is a 

 flesh ; in reds a pale red, and in whites a pale flesh. 



In whites a dark beak, or any eye except "bull," disquali- 

 fies. 



One of the greatest troubles about the Pouter is its ten- 

 dency to "gorge" or to fill its crop so full that it hangs like 

 a wet bag, and interferes with digestion, to say nothing of 

 drawing the poor bird over till it cannot stand. A gorged 

 Pouter is a pitiable sight, and it is strange how some men 

 who ought to know how to relieve them, make mistakes. 

 Sometimes they gorge just at the wrong time i. e. when put 

 in the show pen preparatory to judging. This is always 



