THE NORWICH PLAINHEAD 207 



gives the bird a mean appearance, and one that is too 

 stout spoils the beautiful outline of the skull when viewed 

 in profile, but, what is worse, it is often accompanied by 

 flatness of skull and overhanging brows. 



Short and Compact Bodies. 



A really first-class exhibition bird should be short and 

 thick and stout in neck — in a word, bull-necked. It can 

 hardly be too thick or too short. Many birds are spoilt 

 by having long thin necks. This failing is usually seen 

 in yellows of high colour and quality ; they are very apt 

 to run fine in neck. The head, neck and shoulders of a 

 good Norwich should be bunched all up together. The 

 neck should be just sufficient to show that there is some- 

 thing between the head and the shoulders. To use a 

 paradox I once heard expressed by an old breeder — a 

 good-necked Norwich should have no neck. The ideal 

 Norwich neck should be Hke that of the Bullfinch. The 

 body should be round and compact, deep through from 

 back to breast, broad in the chest and shoulders, well 

 rounded in front and at the sides, whilst the back itself 

 should be broad and slightly rounded. A flat back is 

 wrong, so also is what is known as a roached back, that 

 is a back which is so round lengthways that it looks 

 humpy. The roundness of the back should be almost 

 imperceptible, and rise from the sides and not from the 

 shoulders. From the shoulders to the tail the back should 

 present an appearance not of flatness, nor of roundness, 

 but of being well filled in. Whilst the front of the body, 

 that is the chest, requires to be bold, deep and broad. 

 Behind the legs there should be little body, and what 

 there is should have the appearance known as " well cut 

 away." The ideal Norwich is short all over, but many 

 of the big ones are far from being short. 



Wing Carriage of Importance. 



The wings should be well set into the shoulders, short, 

 tightly braced, and carried very close to the body. 

 The flights must lie evenly, the tips meeting just over the 



