220 FANCY PIGEONS. 



Turbits, marked according to our standard, with peak crest 

 and clean legs, and with the blazing colour and grand Owl 

 properties of some of the Turbiteens, should have been 

 allowed to disappear in the desire for something new. Such 

 pigeons would now be very valuable. 



The Turbiteen is generally smooth-headed, but a few peak- 

 crested ones have been brought to this country. It is grouse- 

 legged, and white in colour, marked as follows : The shoulders 

 should be coloured exactly the same as in the British Turbit. 

 The head markings are by no means well fixed in the breed, 

 but are occasionally to be seen very good, according to the 

 standard agreed on by fanciers, viz., a I'ound, coloured spot 

 on the forehead, commencing at the beak wattle, and of about 

 the size of a shilling, and a similar spot on each cheek. There 

 ought to be a distinct white line between the forehead and 

 cheek spots, and the throat should be white, dividing the 

 cheek marks. The whole face and throat is sometimes coloured 

 in a heavily-marked bird, which is faulty. 



The eyes should be orange for choice ; they are often broken 

 in colour, which is worse than being dark-eyed. 



The Turbiteen is exceedingly foul-thighed in general, the 

 only clean-thighed ones I ever saw being a few blacks that I 

 bred myself; but they had white wing butts, which looked 

 very bad. I have seen them with the feathers on the outside 

 of the thighs coloured, and still white-vented, and white between 

 the thighs. This approached to a specific marking, and may 

 be what is wished for in Smyrna ; but I have stated my ideas 

 on this point already. I have seen a few black Turbiteens 

 with black tails in addition to the usual marking. 



The colour found in some of these birds is superb, and, 

 though I have seen it equalled in other pigeons, I have never 

 seen it surpassed. The black, red, and yellow leave nothing 

 to be desired. There are also duns of various tints, some 

 of them being of a lovely lavender shade ; but this colour is 

 apt to fade, and becomes dappled at the moulting season, till 



