136 FANCY PIGEONS. 



and distinct race is the colour of its irides, which are large 

 in size, and bolting, like the choice African Owl; in colour 

 they are of a vivid ruby red, of the hue known among jewel 

 merchants as "pigeon's blood." I have seen nothing nearly 

 approaching them in any other breed of pigeon, for they 

 are like big beads of living fire sparkling in the head of 

 the bird, and so noticeable that they tell at the distance of 

 several yards. This pigeon breeds true, but loses all value 

 if crossed with another variety. It is an instance of the 

 manifold variations that exist in that universal favourite, 

 the domestic pigeon. I described this pigeon in the Journal 

 of Horticulture some years ago, before which I am not aware 

 that it was ever mentioned in this country. 



The Chinese Dewlap Pigeon. 



Some specimens of this very distinct variety of the domestic 

 pigeon first made their appearance in Europe within the last 

 five years. Three pairs of them were brought from China by 

 M. Yallois, an officer in the French navy, for his brother in 

 Paris, an enthusiastic fancier. One pair of them was given 

 to M. Yictor la Perre de E/oo, who sent me some photo- 

 graphs of them, taken from life. In size and shape they are 

 similar to a large Homing Antwerp Pigeon. The head is of the 

 Owl type, round and down-faced, the beak thick and short. Their 

 greatest peculiarity is the enormous gullet, filling up the 

 hollow of the throat, from the jew wattle to far down the 

 neck, described as, and seeming to be, from the photographs, 

 over half an inch broad. In colour they are blue, but marked 

 in a very original way with a large white spot on the fore- 

 head, white upper mandible, a white oval spot on each side 

 of the neck, and with white flights, as shown in the illus- 

 tration. The best gullet yet seen on any of our Frill-breasted 

 Owl type of pigeons can only be called rudimentary when 

 compared with that of this wonderful bird. 



The Dewlap Pigeons had brass bangles on their legs when 



