COLOURS OF GAMK. 157 



here is to keep free from red or foxy colour, or patches, 

 especially on the wings. The legs in both sexes are willow or 

 olive ; eyes, bright red. 



There is a sub-breed much used in breeding Black-red game, 

 called Wh eaten game. The colour is confined to the hens, and 

 consists mainly in a lighter breast very pale fawn or cream- 

 colour, and the rest of the body a reddish fawn, resembling the 

 skin of red wheat. This colour is bred by the lighter-coloured 

 cocks, and hence is used to breed brighter colours when the 

 cockerels are getting too dark. But with long careful breeding 

 among the Black-reds themselves these variations have become 

 less, and the Wheaten is gradually dying out. 



In Brown-reds, the modern cocks are now sought with 

 lemon-coloured hackles striped with black ; back and shoulder 

 coverts also lemon with a black centre ; breast, each feather 

 laced with gold or lemon on a black ground, and the shaft of 

 the feather also showing gold. Another colour is similar, but 

 the marking is darkish orange rather than lemon. Formerly 

 the lacing on the breast was dispensed with. In hens, the 

 hackle should be black edged with bright lemon, and the rest 

 a bright greenish -black, laced with lemon on the breast only. 

 Hens without lacing all black except the hackles formerly 

 were fashionable, and are sometimes shown still ; but the 

 lacing is preferred. The legs should be extremely dark willow, 

 almost black ; the eyes very dark brown, almost black \ the 

 faces a very dark purple or gipsy colour, red faces being almost 

 disqualification in practice. There is a sort of strong dark 

 blood, in fact, running through the whole bird. 



Duck wings are very handsome birds. The cock's face is 

 bright red, head white, hackle verging more to a straw colour 

 lower down ; saddle hackles straw or yellowish ; back, wing- 

 bow, and shoulder-coverts rich gold or light orange ; bright 

 steel-blue bar across the wing ; breast and under parts black 

 The hen's head is silvery grey; hackle silver grey striped with 



