278 FANCY PIGEONS. 



of modern nomenclature, as applied to new varieties of pigeons 

 and poultry, it would never do to depend on the names of 

 old varieties as being indications of their origin. It is certain 

 that the Barbs which came from the South of France were 

 far superior to what were here previously ; and though the 

 name of this bird in French literature is Pigeon Polonais, it 

 may have another in the South. It is evidently an ancient 

 variety, and more nearly allied to the highest type of the Owl 

 tribe than any other. Both may be from the same stem, 

 and both may have existed from pre-historic times. I have 

 seen a few Barbs in Bengal, but was informed that they 

 were the produce of some that had been imported from 

 Europe. 



The Barb should be smooth-headed and clean-legged; at 

 the same time, a crested variety has existed for long, and is 

 mentioned in our old pigeon books. The legs are occasionally 

 slightly feathered, which is so far faulty. A sub-variety is 

 bred in Germany with frilled breast like an Owl. 



SIZE. There is a certain difference of opinion regarding 

 size, some liking a small bird, and others a large one. I 

 think that, when the head properties in two birds are equal 

 in proportion to their respective sizes, the larger bird is to 

 be preferred, as being bolder in all its points. 



SHAPE. The neck short and thin, the breast very broad, 

 the legs short, and the flights rather long, and carried neither 

 high nor low, but lying on each side of the tail, is, I think, 

 the correct style for this pigeon, and it is that described by 

 Continental writers. Any gullet or fulness of throat takes from 

 the wished-for appearance of a massive head set on a thin 

 stem, which most, though not all, look for in a Barb. A gullet, 

 filling up the hollow of the throat, and making a bird broad 

 across the neck in profile, is a grand property in the Owl tribe, 

 with their sprightly carriage ; but the Barb has little carriage, 

 properly so called, and looks much better with a hollow, clean 

 run throat. 



