174 THE PRACTICAL PIGEON KEEPER. 



to duns, reds, and yellows, and Barbs producing almost 

 any colour. But the reason of the variety of produce of any 

 pair of birds of the Satinette family is the fact that, like 

 the Almond, the colour and marking have been produced by 

 the long and careful blending of three colours, until all 

 three are united in one bird, as in the Almond. The dif- 

 ference is that the Oriental breeders, with a higher skill, have 

 in the same way as the Germans united the different colours 

 with a beauty and regularity of pattern which we have 

 already seen the Almond does not possess. But sub-varieties 

 constantly tend to appear, precisely in the same way as the 

 Almond, Splash, Whole-feather, or Kite do in Almond- 

 breeding, and have to be used in the same way. 



The Satinette, then, is a combination of pinky-brown, black, 

 and white, which is often more or less mixed with blue in 

 addition. Most of the body is white, like the Turbit. The 

 shoulders (coloured in the Turbit) are of the pinky-brown 

 ground, shading into white and marked with black. The 

 black marking is sometimes of an arrow-pointed character, as 

 in our illustration, sometimes of a laced type, as in Sebright 

 Bantams or the Blondinettes shown in the engraving. The 

 flights are white, the tail-coverts generally coloured ; the tail 

 itself black, with a large round white spot at the end of each 

 feather ; or the feathers might also be described as with a ring 

 of black at the end. A bluish tinge in the black is a fault. 



Brunettes are lighter Satinettes, the ground being a silvery- 

 greyish buff, and the markings grey instead of black. Bluettes 

 have blue shoulders, like a blue Turbit, blue tails with the white 

 spot at the end, and the three colours in the bars, the main 

 breadth of which is white, but edged with the pinky brown 

 of a rich colour, shading into black. Silverettes have silver 

 shoulders, with white bars edged with black only, tail grey, 

 with the usual spots. There are besides black-and-white birds 

 only, from which, with a little patience, birds might be bred 



