153 PIGEONS OF PECULIAR VOICE. 



Lavender that a silver pigeon does to a blue one. The 

 voice of this pigeon, in both sexes, is melodious, is quite 

 peculiar to the breed, and differs from that of the Trumpeter 

 and Laugher. It commences by a very highly pitched, pro- 

 longed COO-TOO ; then, with the head down, and with shaking 

 wings, the bird breaks off into a long-sustained roo-roo-roo- 

 roo-wach-wach-wach-roo-oo, which is broken now and again by 

 sighs, as if it were short of breath. The hen's voice is much 

 lower in tone than the cock's, and is especially sweet as 

 she goes to her nest, when she purrs like a cat for about 

 half a minute. 



The Laugher Pigeon. 



The Laugher is a breed of pigeon that has been known in 

 this country, off and on, since Moore's time. It seems to 

 have died out and been re-imported several times. Brent 

 mentions two stocks of these birds he knew of. The first 

 closely resembled blue chequered dovehouse pigeons, but 

 were rather smaller, and had very slightly feathered legs, the 

 only difference he could notice being a slight fulness at 

 the back of the neck, behind the head, and the edge of the 

 eyelids being inclined to red. The cock of a pair he had 

 was dark chequered, the hen the same, but pied with white. 

 The other stock, which, he was told, was imported from 

 India, and which were taken thence by Mohammedans who had 

 been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, were of the same dovehouse 

 form, but with narrow, peaked crowns, and in colour of a 

 light haggle, or something between a grizzle and a gay 

 mottle. 



Moore says of the Laugher: "It is red mottled; and some 

 tell me they have seen blues. They are said to come from 

 the holy Land, near Jerusalem." It seems, therefore, that the 

 breed is of different colours, sometimes peaked, and some- 

 times slightly feathered on the legs. Their peculiar voice is 

 what makes them a distinct breed, and Moore describes it 



