Teachers' Leaflet. 495 



Of the many varieties bred to-day only four are recognized by fanciers as having 

 been bred to approximate perfection. These first royal four are : The carrier, 

 the pouter, the barb and the short-faced tumbler. Second, are those varieties which 

 possess distinctive qualities regardless of color and having a strong tendency to 

 transmit them to their young. These are : Jacobins, long- faced tumbler owl, 

 oriental frill, turbit, fantail, show-antwerp and runt. Third, come what are 

 known as toy pigeons, which depend almost entirely on color to distinguish them 

 from common pigeons. These are : The swallow, helmet, nun, spot, archangel, 

 magpie, quaker, moorcap and others. Fourth, is a breed lacking distinct color 

 or shape, yet possessing the instinct to return home, and an endurance which 

 causes them to rank as fancy pigeons; this is called the Antwerp or homing 

 pigeon. 



DESCRIPTION OF SOME COMMON VARIETIES.* 



The carrier does not, as its name would indicate, carry messages, but is kept 

 as a fancy pigeon, valued only for shape, size and color. Tt is a large, strongly-built 

 bird with long feathers and a rough appearance; its neck is slim and long, set on 

 the broadest of shoulders. Its beak is at least one and three-quarter inches from 

 the center of the eye ; at the base of the beak is the carrier's chief glory, the beak 

 wattle, a bare, fleshy growth in folds; around the eye is a bare circle of skin 

 called the eye cere. The pouter is the largest and tallest of the breeds, standing 

 nearly perpendicular on long, slender legs. Its chief peculiarity is an ability while 

 strutting to inflate its breast with air. The Barbary or barb as it is now called, is 

 one of the oldest of the breeds ; it is a strong, large bird with plump body, short 

 legs, broad skull and short beak. It has a large, saddle-shaped beak wattle, with 

 a large, thick, circular, bright-red wattle around each eye. The short-faced tumbler 

 is a diminutive bird, sprightly, with broad, well-curved head carried on the slimmest 

 of necks. The beak is so short and fine that many cannot feed their own young, 

 which must be cared for by plebeian pigeon nurses. When a tumbler flies, it turns 

 a very pretty back summersault in the air. Some called parlor tumblers cannot 

 fly a yard from the floor, often tumbling withm six inches of the floor and alight- 

 ing on their feet. Others are high flyers, tumbling only occasionally, and are able 

 to remain in the air for hours at a time. The tumblers have the strong homing 

 instinct. The fantail has a broad, expanded tail, which may contain as many as 

 fifty feathers. It is a small bird with round body, full breast, the head being carried 

 so far back that it rests against the tail. The points most sought after in the 

 " fans " are small size, large tail evenly balanced, and not carried to one side, and 

 the position of the head far back against the tail. The jacobme is a medium- 

 sized, plump bird whose chief peculiarity is a ring of inverted feathers back of the 

 head, which stand up like a feather boa, hiding the head up to the eyes. The 

 tiirbit is a small, round bird, with full breast, short legs and neck. The head is 

 short and round, the beak very short and stout, and the eye large. The feathers 

 on the back of the head are inverted, forming a pointed crest which gives the birds 

 a surprised look. The neck and upper breast have inverted, curled feathers, form- 

 ing a dainty frill. The magpie is a slender, graceful bird with black head, neck, 

 breast and back, and the remainder of the body white. The homer or Anfzverp 

 does not differ in color or form from the common pigeon, but has such powers of 

 flight and such ability in finding its way home, that it is freely accorded a place as a 

 fancy pigeon. Pigeons have been used to convey news since history began and 



*The notes on the breeds of pigeons were written for this leaflet by Mr. H. Free- 

 man Button. 



