5^4 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



the back. Breast : Rich claret, coming well under ; 

 cleanly cut, not running into the body colour, and 

 quite free from white pencilling or chain armour. 

 Chain Armour or Flank Pencilling : Rich blue 

 French-grej' ground, well pencilled across with 

 glossy black, perfectly free from white, rust, or iron. 

 Stern : Same ground as flank, very boldly pencilled 

 close up to the vent, finishing in an indistinct curved 

 line (perfectly free from white) followed by rich 

 black feathers up to the tail coverts. Tail coverts : 

 Black or slate-black, with brown tinge, mth two 

 or three green-black curled feathers in the centre. 

 Back and Rump : Rich green-black from between 

 the shoulders to the rump. Wings : Large coverts, 

 pale clear grey ; small coverts, French grey very 

 finely pencilled ; pinion coverts, dark grey or slate 

 black ; bars (two, composed of one line of white 

 in the centre of the small coverts), grey tipped with 

 black, also forming a line at the base of the flight 

 coverts, the latter feathers slate-black on the upper 

 side of the quill and rich iridescent blue on the 

 lower side, each of these feathers tipped wdth white 

 at the end of the lower side, forming two distinct 

 white bars (the pinion bar being edged with black) 

 with a bold blue ribbon mark between the two, 

 each colour being clear and distinct and making a 

 striking contrast ; flights, slate-black with brown 

 tinge free from white. The markings throughout 

 the whole plumage should be cleanly cut and well 

 defined in every detail, the colours distinct and 

 not shading into each other. 



Remainder of Plumage : The ground of rich (golden, 

 almond, or chestnut) brown of level shade, every 

 feather distinctly pencilled from throat and breast 

 to flank and stern, the markings to be rich black 

 or very dark brown, the black pencilling on the 

 rump having a green lustre. 



SCALE OF POINTS 



THE DRAKE 



Colour : breast, lo ; bill, 5 ; neck, 5 ; ring 



chain armour, 



wings, 5 

 Markings 

 Size . . 

 Type . . 

 Condition 

 Head 

 Legs and feet 



stern, 5 



back and rump, 

 tail, 5 . . 



5 ; 

 5 ; 



50 



THE DUCK 



bill, 10 ; head, 5 ; neck, 



THE DUCK 



Bill : Bright orange ground, with black bean 

 at the tip, and with black saddle extending almost 

 to each side and about two-thirds down towards 

 the tip. Eyes : Dark hazel. Legs and Feet : Dull 

 orange brown. 



Plumage. — Head : Rich (golden, almond, or 

 chestnut) brown, with a wide brown-black line from 

 the base of the bill to the neck, and very bold black 

 lines across the head, above and below the eyes, 

 filled in with smaller lines. Neck : The same 

 colour as the head, with a wide brown line at the 

 back from the shoulders, shading to black at the 

 head. Wings : Bars, two distinct white bars with 

 a bold blue ribbon-mark between, as in the drake ; 

 flights, slate black with brown tinge, no white. 



Serious defects : Leaden bill ; no wing bars ; 

 white flights ; broken down in stern ; wngs down 

 or twisted ; wry tail ; or any other deformity. In 

 the drake no ring on neck or black-saddle or bill ; 

 in the duck, white ring, or approaching white, on 

 neck. 



OTHER BREEDS 



Beyond the foregoing mentioned breeds of ducks 

 those occasionally seen at exhibitions in tliis country 

 are East Indian (Black), Muscovy (Black-and-White, 

 and White), Swedish (Blue), and Ornamental varieties, 

 such as Bahamas, Calls, Carolinas, Mandarins, Spot- 

 Bills, Shovellers, and Whistlers ; but they are not 

 kept or exhibited in sufficient numbers to warrant 

 descriptive standards. — W. W. B. 



