Chap. V. DESCRIPTION OF BREEDS. 161 



were actually "45 shorter, and proportionally "21 of an inch shorter, 

 than the feet of the rock-pigeon. The middle toe has only twelve 

 or thirteen, instead of fourteen or fifteen scutellae. The primary 

 wing-feathers are not rarely nine instead of ten in number. The 

 imiiroved short - faced Tumblers have almost lost the power of 

 tumbling ; but there are several authentic accounts of their occa- 

 sionally tumbling. There are several sub-varieties, such as Bald- 

 heads, Beards, Mottles, and Almonds; the latter are remarkable 

 from not acquiring their i^erfectly-coloured plumage until they have 

 moulted three or four times. There is good reason to believe that 

 most of these sub-varieties, some of which breed truly, have arisen 

 since the publication of Moore's treatise in 1785.^* 



Finally, in regard to the whole group of Tumblers, it is impos- 

 sible to conceive a more perfect gradation than I have now lying 

 before me, from the rock-pigeon, through Persian, Lotan, and 

 common Tumblers, up to the marvellous short-faced birds ; which 

 latter, no ornithologist, judging fi'om mere external structure, would 

 place in the same genius with the rock-pigeon. The differences 

 between the successive steps in this series are not greater than those 

 wliich may be observed between common dovecot-pigeons (C. Uvia) 

 brought from different countries. 



Eace VIII. — Indian Frill-back. 

 Beak very short ; feathers reversed. 



A specimen of this bird, in spirits, was sent to me from Madras 

 by Sir W. Elliot. It is wholly different from the Frill-back often 

 exhibited in England. It is a smallish bird, about the size of the 

 common Tumbler, but has a beak in all its proportions like our 

 short-faced Tumblers. The beak, measured from the tip to the 

 feathered base, was only '46 of an inch in length. The feathers 

 over the whole body are reversed or curl backwards. Had this bird 

 occurred in Euroj^e, I should have thought it only a monstrous 

 variety of our improved Tumbler : biit as short-faced Tumblers are 

 not known in India, I think it must rank as a distinct breed. Pro- 

 bably this is the breed seen by Hasselquist in 1757 at Cairo, and 

 said to have been imported from India. 



Eace IX. — Jacobin. (Zopf- or Perriickentaube ; nonnain.) 



Feathers of the neck forming a hood ; wings and tail long ; beak 

 moderately short. 



This pigeon can at once be recognised by its hood, almost enclos- 

 ing the head and meeting in front of the neck. The hood seems to 

 be merely an exaggeration of the crest of reversed feathers on the 

 back of the head, which is common to many sub-varieties, and 



" J. M. Eaton's Treatise, edit. 1858, p. 76. 

 VOL I. 



