Xxvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



almost as white as the fantail, while in form it closely 

 resembles the blue pouter. I see no evidence of reversion 

 in this instance, nor yet of prepotency of the male over 

 the female. It is a case of each parent handing on its 

 most fixed individual characters, the fautail giviug the 

 colour, the pouter the form and disposition. The white 

 fantail cock, which in colour proved prepotent over the 

 blue pouter, was next mated with a cross between an 

 owl and an archangel. The archangel hen was a very 

 good example of the copper-coloured variety, the sides 

 of the wings and tail being of a bronzed black hue, and 

 the peak or crest well developed. The owl belonged to 

 the powdered blue English variety. It is small and 

 compact, with a very short " owl-like " beak, rounded 

 head, prominent frill, and short legs. 



The owl-archangel cross is far more an owl than an 

 archangel. There is, in fact, nothing either in the colour 

 or form to suggest the archangel parent, and though 

 evidently related to an owl it differs in having the head 

 and beak elongated, in the length of the legs, the 

 absence of a frill, and also in having the wing bars less 

 distinct, and the wing coverts chequered with brown. 

 In all its movements it is nearer the blue rock than an 

 owl, and, as in the blue rock, there is a white croup and 

 twelve tail feathers, the outer one at each side edged 

 with white except near the tip. The head, tail, and 

 croup approach the European blue rock in colour, but the 

 breast and wings are tinged with brown. 



The fantail with which the owl-archangel hen was 

 mated is absolutely white, has thirty feathers in its tail, 

 and is sufficiently prepotent to produce an almost white 

 bird with a blue pouter. When the feathers eventually 

 appeared on the offspring of the white fantail and the 

 owl-archangel I was not a little surprised to find that 

 both young birds were blue, one of them almost identical 

 with a young wild blue rock-pigeon. 



The wild blue rock varies considerably in colour. In 

 Shetland, where little, if any, intercrossing with the 

 dovecote pigeon has taken place, the croup is as a rule 



