History and Origin. 



but they, paired with their uncommon parent, are then apt to reproduce 

 the desired peculiarity. In this way, I believe, every fancy pigeon, how- 

 ever now far removed from the blue rock, has been produced ; and, 

 judging from the following analogous case, it does not seem to take very 

 long for nature, guided by the reason of man, to produce the greatest 

 differences in form. 



It is well known that the canary bird was first introduced into 

 Europe about three hundred years ago. The difference between the 

 Belgian or Lancashire coppy in form, and the lizard or cinnamon in 

 feather, and the wild canary, as stiU yearly imported into this country, 

 is as great as the difference between the pouter in form and colour and the 

 blue rock pigeon. 



Such results, in a comparatively short time, from canary breeding, 

 have led me to suppose that were bird fanciers to persevere with gold- 

 finches, linnets, and siskins, all of which have been bred in confinement, 

 we should ultimately see similar variations in their forms. Variety of 

 colour constantly occurs among them in a wild state, and such has been 

 noticed by naturalists for 200 years. 



Besides the blue rook pigeon inhabiting our coasts, others, differing 

 from it slightly, are known to exist in Asia and Africa. All or any of these 

 that may have been domesticated may have been progenitors of fancy 

 pigeons. One of them, the CoJraiitaieKcoiioto, inhabiting the Himalayas, 

 has been lately brought to this country, and was figured in the VielS, 

 newspaper. It is marked on the head and tail like a mm, and, in addition, 

 the wings are marked something Uke a swallow pigeon. But whether or 

 not it is a true rock pigeon, capable of domestication and able to produce 

 young with a common blue rock or tame pigeon, themselves in turn 

 fertile, is what I cannot say, not having heard of any such experiment 

 that may have been made having turned out successfully. This subject, 

 however, is one more for naturalists than pigeon fanciers, who have 

 generally their hands full with the work of keeping up, and possibly 

 improving, the interesting forms of pigeon life handed down to them 

 from of old. 



The case of a new type of form I have referred to occurred about 

 twenty-five years ago, and ia recorded in the pages of the PoiiUi-i/ 

 Chronicle. The bird in question was a sport from common baldpate 

 tumblers, and a reference to the illustration which will be found in 



