THE COLmiBIlvE, OR PIGEON GROUP. 147 



wliite. In powers of flight the jacobine is 

 very inferior, but is much valued for its beauty. 

 There are two alUed varieties, the ruff and the 

 capuchin, neither of which, however, are so 

 much esteemed as the jacobine, the general 

 characters of which they exhibit, but in an 

 inferior degree. 



The Turbit. — This is a small pigeon, re- 

 markable for a frill on the top of the chest, 

 consisting of a tuft of feathers, which opens 

 and spreads both ways laterally with a curl ; 

 this is termed a "purle." The head is 

 small, the beak short, the colour various, but 

 the under parts and quill feathers are usually 

 white. An allied variety is called the owl, 

 from the crookedness of its beak, which is 

 short, stout, and curved. Its chest is frilled. 



The Nun. — This pigeon is very pretty, and 

 much admired from the contrast of its mark- 

 ings. The general plumage is white, with the 

 exception of the head, quill feathers and tail, 

 which are yellow, blue, or black ; the latter the 

 most preferred. On the top of the coloured 

 head, is a white tuft of carded feathers, which, 

 from a fancied resemblance to a veil, has 

 obtained for this variety its appellation. The 

 beak is small, the iris pearl-white. A variety 



