196 DOMESTIC PIGEONS: Chap. VI 



in many places chequered with Hack, and having either a 

 white or blue croup or loins ; it varies also slightly in the 

 size of the beak and body. Dovecot-pigeons, which no one 

 disputes are descended from one or more of the above wild 

 forms, present a similar but greater range of variation in 

 plumage, in the size of body, and in the length and thickness 

 of the beak. There seems to be some relation between the 

 croup being blue or white, and the temperature of tho 

 country inhabited by both wild and dovecot pigeons ; for 

 nearly all the dovecot-pigeons in the northern parts of Europe 

 have a white croup, like that of the wild European rock- 

 pigeon ; and nearly all the dovecot-pigeons of India have a 

 blue croup like that of the wild C. intermedia of India. As in 

 various countries the wild rock-pigeon has been found easy to 

 tame, it seems extremely probable that the dovecot-pigeons 

 throughout the world are the descendants of at least two and 

 perhaps more wild stocks ; but these, as we have just seen, 

 cannot be ranked as specifically distinct. 



With respect to the variation of C. livia, we may without 

 fear of contradiction go one step further. Those pigeon- 

 fanciers who believe that all the chief races, such as Carriers, 

 Pouters, Fantails, &c, are descended from distinct aboriginal 

 stocks, yet admit that the so-called toy-pigeons, which differ 

 fiom the rock-pigeon in little except colour, are descended 

 from this bird. By toy-pigeons are meant such birds as Spots, 

 Nuns, Helmets, Swallows, Priests, Monks, Porcelains, Swa- 

 bians, Archangels, Breasts, Shields, and others in Europe, and 

 many others in India. It would indeed be as puerile to 

 suppose that all these birds are descended from so many 

 distinct wild stocks as to suppose this to be the case with the 

 many varieties of the gooseberry, heartsease, or dahlia. Yet 

 these kinds all breed true, and many of them include sub- 

 varieties which likewise transmit their character truly. 

 They differ greatly from each other and from the rock-pigeon 

 in plumage, slightly in size and proportions of body, in size 

 of feet, and in the length and thickness of their beaks. They 

 differ from each other in these respects more than do dove- 

 cot-pigeons. Although we may safely admit that dovecot- 

 pigeons, which vary slightly, and that toy-pigeons, which 



