250 



OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



FIG. 201. White Runt 

 Pigeon l 



specimens in which this character is highly developed have a 

 much greater number of tail feathers. It is said that forty-two 

 feathers have been counted in a tail. A tail in which there are 

 so many feathers cannot be carried in 

 the natural position ; it spreads, forming 

 a major segment of a circle, and at the 

 same time it is elevated until, in speci- 

 mens with very full tails, the highest tail 

 feathers stand nearly perpendicular. To 

 balance the large tail carried in this po- 

 sition the Fantail has to carry its head 

 very far back. This makes the breast 

 very prominent. The bird cannot fly 

 well, and when walking about it appears 

 to be strutting to make a display of its 

 spectacular tail. Its appearance is in this respect deceptive, for 

 it is a very modest bird and has difficulty in balancing itself in 

 any other position. The Fantail is gentle and affectionate, and 

 is the best of all pigeons for those who want 

 birds for pets. It is bred in many color 

 varieties. The White Fantail is the most 

 popular, because it is the most showy and 

 the easiest to produce with uniform color in 

 a flock. 



Pouter Pigeons. All pigeons have in some 

 measure the power of inflating the crop with 

 air. In the Pouter Pigeons this power has 

 been developed and its exercise encouraged 

 to such an extent that in many specimens 

 the inflated crop is as large as all the rest of 

 the bird. Pouters were introduced into Eng- 

 land from Holland several hundred years ago. They were at first 

 called Croppers. The common Pouter is a large pigeon with 



1 Photograph from Elmer E. Rice, Boston, Massachusetts. 



FIG. 202. White 

 Pouter Pigeon 



