PIGEONS 



251 



long legs. It usually stands in a very erect position. There is 

 a race of dwarf pigeons of this type, called Pigmy Pouters. 



Other important types. One of the most attractive pigeons 

 is the Jacobin, which has the feathers of the neck turned upward, 

 forming a hood which sometimes almost conceals the head. 

 The Turbit and Owl Pigeons are distinguished by a frill of 

 feathers on the breast, and by the peculiar beak and face, which 

 are very short. The Dragoon is a large, showy pigeon of the 

 Carrier type. The Trumpeter is distinguished by a crest, which 

 greatly obstructs its sight, as well as by the peculiar development 

 of the voice, to which it owes its name. The Runt is a very large 

 pigeon bred both for exhibi- 

 tion and for the table. Some 

 squab growers prize it very 

 highly ; others say that the 

 smaller and more prolific 

 Homer is more profitable for 

 squab breeding. The use of 

 a term commonly applied 

 to undersized, ill-developed 



FIG. 203. Fowl-like, or Maltese Hen, 

 Pigeons l 



creatures as the name of one 

 of the largest pigeons is one 

 of the curiosities of nomenclature. The explanation, however, is 

 simple. In England in old times common pigeons were called 

 runts. The pigeon now called the Runt was introduced into Eng- 

 land from Spain, and was called by early writers on pigeons the 

 Spanish Runt, meaning the common pigeon of Spain. With 

 the disuse of the term "runt" to designate the common pigeon, 

 the term "Spanish" was dropped from the designation of the 

 improved breed, and it became simply the Runt. Besides the 

 Runt just mentioned there is another large pigeon, once called 

 the Leghorn Runt, which belongs to the class of Fowl-like, or 

 Hen, Pigeons, so called because in shape they are strikingly like 



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



