155 PIGEONS OF PECULIAR VOICE. 



several young ones, resembling their mother in coIo^^r, and all 

 very good in voice. I afterwards got a fine pair of pure 

 "Whites, and some more Blues, from M. la PeiTe de Roo, 

 who tells me that they are not as yet very common in France. 

 One of the Whites was entirely clean-legged, the other had 

 short feathers on the shanks, but none on the toes. I had 

 a Blue well-feathered both on legs and feet ; most of them, 

 however, were entirely clean-legged, but on the middle and 

 outer toes had feathers about half an inch in length, which 

 style seems confined to this breed, at least, I do not at present 

 remember any other variety so feathered on the feet, though 

 bare-legged. Some of the Blues had a yellow iris, and some 

 were hazel-eyed. The eye wattle, which is generally very 

 narrow, and the corners of the mouth were reddish, and the 

 beak light. 



The voice of the Laugher varies considerably, so much 

 so, that I could tell each bird from its voice. They vary 

 in the tone and length of their notes. Their ordinary coo 

 is louder and more modulated than with pigeons generally. 

 It is after cooing that, with the head bent down, and with 

 the wings hanging and trembling, as with other "voice" 

 pigeons, they break away into a prolonged hua-hua-hua-hua ; 

 all who have heard the Laugher in my pigeonry for the first 

 time have been quite struck by its voice, inquiring with 

 astonishment, " What's that ; what kind of pigeon is that ? " 

 and wishing to hear it repeated. In fact, one never tires 

 of hearing it, especially when several birds, all differing 

 somewhat in tone, are laughing in concert. The hens are 

 nearly as musical as the cocks. A Black Pied Pouter 

 cock paired with one of my odd Blue Laugher hens. She 

 laid, and, her mate having been sold, sat on the eggs alone, 

 and hatched and brought up a young one. This half-bred 

 resembled an Austrian Pouter in shape, and was blue 

 chequered in colour, without any white. I kept it to see if 

 its voice would differ from that of an ordinary pigeon. When 



