97 



venerable sons of the church, who generally take a great delight to asso- 

 ciate themselves with the female saints. 



219. — The Nun therefore is a bird somewhat larger than a Jacobine, her 

 plumage is very particular, and she seems entirely to take her name from 

 it, her being as it were covered with a veil (*) 



220. — Her body is all white, her head, tail, and six of her flight 

 feathers ought to be entirely black, red, and yellow ; (f ) and whatever 

 feathers vary from this are said to be foul, though the best of them all 

 will sometimes apt to breed a few foul feathers, and those that are but 

 little so, though not so much valued, will often breed as clean-feathered 

 birds as those that are not. 



221. — A Nun ought likewise to be pearle-eyed, and to have a white 

 hood or tuft of feathers on the hinder part of the head, which the larger 

 it is, adds a considerable beauty to the bird. 



217. (Brent.) — Capuchines are those that have only a hood and no chain, but such 

 are of no value, being merely a cross of the former. 



* 219, (Mayor, p. 123.) — Is a bird that attracts the eye greatly, from the contrast 

 in her plumage, which is very particular. 



t 220. (Mayor, p. 123.) — Namely, if her head be black, her tail and flight should be 

 black likewise ; if her head be red, then her tail and flight should be red ; or if her head 

 be yellow, her tail and flight should be also yeUow ; and are accordingly called either 

 red-headed Nuns, yellow-headed Nuns, &c. Shoiild a black-headed Nun have a white 

 or any other coloured feather in her head, except black, she would be called foul-headed; 

 or a white feather in her flight, she would be called foul-flighted, &c., and the same rule 

 stands good in the red-headed or yellow-headed Nuns. 



220. (Brent.) — Of all the toy Pigeons, the Nun is perhaps the best known and 

 most cultivated in England. It is much admired for its pretty appearance, and the 

 contrast of its colours ; it is with me a very favourite pet, from the fact of its having 

 been the very first I had to call my own ; nevertheless, I regret to see it take prece- 

 dence, as it sometimes does at our shows, of such birds as Jacobins, Turbits, or Barbs, 

 which have many properties, while the pretty Nun is truly a to}'^, having but one 

 property, namely, feather. 



220. (Brent.) — The Nuns are about the size of common dove-house Pigeons, but 

 stouter made, and rather more elegantly shaped ; the beaks are long and dove-shaped ; 

 the eyes should be pearl- coloured, though occasionally gravel, but a black eye is a 

 great fault. They are merry, active, and good breeders ; they are clean-footed, and 

 being sharp flyers, are capable of finding a part of their food in the fields. Their 

 plumage is beautifully white, the extremities only being coloured ; the crown of the 

 head, face, and a small portion of the upper part of the throat is dark, and at the back 

 of the head is a nice white turned crown, which gives the bird the appearance of wear- 

 ing a dark veil and white hood, from which circumstance it derives the name of Nun. 

 The twelve tail feathers, and a few of the tail-coverts, as also from seven to ten flight 

 feathers in each pinion are dark of the same colour as the head, either black, blue, red, 

 or yellow ; and they are designated black-headed or yellow-headed Nuns, as the case 

 may be : but black-headed Nuns are by far the most common ; the body should be per- 

 fectly white, any dark or "foul" feathers among the white, or white where they should 

 be black, are fatal blemishes ; the hood, too, should be perfectly white, so as to 

 contrast well with the dark visage, and not lined with dark feathers, as is sometimes 

 the case. 



220. (Brent.) — The German NunS difler from the English in having white flights, 

 and are there called " Bard Tauben," or Beard Pigeons. 

 G 



