108 OWLS. [CHAP. IV. 



name of Turbit I cannot take upon me to deter- 

 mine. 



" It is a small Pigeon, something larger than the 

 Owl ; its beak is short like that of a Partridge ; and 

 the shorter it is the more it is valued ; it should have 

 a round button head, with a gullet ; and the feathers 

 on the breast (like that of the Owl) open, and reflect 

 both ways, standing out almost like a fringe, or the frill 

 of a shirt ; and the bird is valued in proportion to the 

 goodness of the frill or purle. 



" In regard to their feather, the tail and back of the 

 wings ought to be of one entire colour, as blue, black, 

 dun, &c., the red and yellow ones excepted, whose tails 

 should be white ; and those that are blue should have 

 black bars cross the wings ; the flight feathers, and all 

 the rest of the body should be white, and are called by 

 the fanciers according to the colour they are of, as 

 black-shouldered, yellow-shouldered, blue-shouldered 

 Turbits, &c. They are a very pretty light Pigeon ; and 

 if used to fly when young, some of them make very 

 good flyers. 



" There are some Turbits all white, black and blue, 

 which by a mistake are often called and taken for 

 Owls," pp. 127-8. 



And well they may be : distinction of colour is all 

 that can be perceived by common eyes. It is said that 

 in Owls, the feathers round the neck ought to have a 

 certain, slight, hardly describable twist : but wishing 

 only to describe the really typical domestic forms, I 

 hesitate to give the Owls any paragraph to themselves. 



The iris in the brown-shouldered Turbit is dark 

 hazel surrounding a large black pupil. The attention 



