207 FRILL-BREASTED PIGEONS. 



Generally speaking, it is as large as the clean-legged flying 

 Tumbler. To reduce it materially in size can only be accom- 

 plished by crossing with the African Owl, its undoubted rela- 

 tive. I have been doing this for several seasons, with much 

 greater success than I had hoped to anticipate, and I believe 

 others are now adopting the same method. Such experiments, 

 however, take long to complete ; and as all the Frilled Pigeons 

 are with me more delicate, and apt to succumb under that 

 dread disease, inflammation of the bowels, than any other race 

 of pigeons, I have several times been thrown back after 

 making a decided advance. In crossing with the African Owl, 

 my object has been, both to reduce size, and improve the Turbit 

 in head and beak; in fact, to have a peak-headed, coloured- 

 shouldered, African Owl, which would be, in my opinion, the 

 perfect Turbit. 



Many Turbits are neither peak nor shell-crested, but some- 

 thing between the two. Some of these are merely the faulty 

 produce from pure bred birds of either variety; but crossing 

 the two kinds is apt to result in badly-crested birds. They 

 ought, therefore, to be kept distinct, for the mane is diffi- 

 cult to maintain in perfection. 



COLOUR. The Turbit should be entirely white, with 

 coloured shoulders. The wings, including the scapular 

 feathers, with the exception of the primary flight feathers, 

 ought to be coloured. Nothing is easier to get fairly good, 

 and yet nothing is more difficult to breed to a feather, than 

 this beautiful marking. The flight feathers, generally ten a 

 side, though occasionally only nine, may often be got right; 

 but to have freedom from foul thighs, vent feathers, or under- 

 body, on the one hand, and no white feathers on the wings, 

 except the flights, on the other, is the great difficulty. I 

 consider that a bird quite clean below, with white wing butts, 

 looks worse than one free of white on the wings and a 

 little foul below, because bishoped wings are very glaring. 

 With a full set of white flights we almost invariably find 



