349 THE SHORT-FACED TUMBLER. 



that it depends on the judges whether the Short-faced fancy 

 is to decline still further, or whether it is to rise again. The 

 Short-face is naturally a charming pigeon, beautiful in all 

 its colourings, and original in many ways. 



One of my set of eight life-size, very old, oil paintings of 

 fancy pigeons, is an Almond Tumbler. From a careful study 

 of these paintings, I conclude they are the work of a faithful 

 and conscientious artist, and if not older than Moore's " Colum- 

 barium," they are at least older than the Treatise of 1765. 

 The Almond represents a common Tumbler in shape and 

 general style, carrying its wings over its tail. It is a rich- 

 feathered bird, showing white in its flight feathers. The 

 pictures are evidently portraits, as many little faults are 

 represented which would have been left out had the artist 

 meant to depict perfect birds. 



The Mottle Short-faced Tumbler. 



As already pointed out from the Treatise on pigeons of 

 1765, and from the old handbill, black Splashes and black 

 Grizzles were formerly sub-varieties of the Short-faced Almond 

 Tumbler. These gradually settled down into a separate 

 variety, and are referred to at page 64 of that book as 

 follows : " There was also a prize last season for black 

 Mottled Tumblers, whose properties should agree with those 

 of the Almond Tumbler, except the feather, which should be 

 a black ground, the body mottled with white, with a black 

 tail and flight ; and, when they are in perfection, they are an 

 excessively pretty fancy, and very valuable. There is also 

 another very pretty fancy, equal at least, if not superior, to 

 the black Mottled, viz., the yellow Mottled Tumbler, whose 

 properties likewise agree with the Almond Tumbler, except 

 the feather, which should be a yellow ground, the body 

 mottled with white, and a yellow flight and tail. Either of 

 these two last-mentioned fancies are extremely useful (pro- 

 vided they answer in their other properties) to intermix occa- 



