OTHER BREEDS OF UTILITY PIGEONS 73 



illustrate: The color of a Carneau is very strong and predomi- 

 nates in its offspring when crossed with hirds of almost any other 

 color or breed. For instance, a red Carneau and white bird of 

 another breed will invariably produce a red hybrid with more or 

 less blue and slate feathers on it. Often the whole tail will be dark 

 blue or almost black, with the rest of the body red or a reddish 

 brown. The offspring will, of course, show some of the Carneau 

 characteristics besides the red feathers, but all such hybrids 

 that I have ever seen resemble their other-than-Cameau an- 

 cestors in the shape of the head and general type. As an exam- 

 ple, the Homer-Carneau cross is generally under size, has a fiat, 

 snake-like Homer head, and a longer bill, but not as thick as 

 the Homer bill. A Runt-Carneau cross will have a long body, 

 short neck and legs like a Runt, with a Runt tendency to drag 

 its wings, while a Carneau-Maltese cross will show up just the 

 opposite, with a short body, long neck and legs, and a tendency 

 to carry its tail high, a la Maltese. 



All these and other Carneau crosses that I have seen are 

 generally red with more or less slate or blue feathers on them, 

 and none of them are as good as the pure bred Carneau for squab 

 breeding purposes; so nothing is gained by crossing. 



