A NOTE ON THE INHERITANCE OF COLOUR 

 IN ONE BREED OF PIGEONS— AN ATTEMPT 

 TO DEMONSTRATE A MENDELIAN TYPE OF 

 TRANSMISSION. 



By J. S. W. NUTTALL, MB. 



The inheritance of feather colour in domestic pigeons having proved 

 so difficult to fit into any scheme, I determined, in 1914, to investigate 

 the matter afresh, confining my energies to one breed and to a small 

 series of colours. I am strongly of opinion that when distinct types or 

 breeds are crossed, the results are complicated by the occurrence of 

 reversion. The matter is obviously complex ; a simple beginning was 

 indicated. The work done completes the preliminary stage only; the 

 onset of war, of necessity, seriously interrupted further experiments. 

 The results are given in bare outline, but it was thought advisable to 

 publish some details of what has been done. 



The breed of pigeons used is known to fanciers as the " Racing 

 Pigeon," a variety which is being used in the present war in the Over- 

 seas Pigeon Service, and is doing useful work. This breed has been 

 firmly established in this country, and more firmly in Belgium, for 

 many years. Various colours are to be found, but the vast majority 

 of the hundreds of thousands bred yearly are of the following colours — 

 blue, blue chequered, red chequered and mealy. A short description of 

 these colours is necessary. 



The blue birds are similar in colouring to the Columba livia, except 

 that the ground colour is, as a rule, brighter or " cleaner " in appearance, 

 though distinctly slaty-blue. They present, in common with Columba 

 livia, the typical wing-bars, the white (albescent) or blue croup and the 

 tail-bar. The ground colour of the primary and secondary wing-quills, 

 and the tail-quills, is dark blue. The blue chequered birds are similar 

 to the blues with the addition of chequering. The wing-bars of the 

 blue are mainly due to spots on the outer sides of the secondary wing 

 feathers ; the chequering arises from an extension of these spots to the 



Journ. of Gen. vii 9 



