Tlie Carmelite. 87 



The Silesian and Niirnberg swallows are found in the following 

 varieties : 



Black, red, and yellow, with white wing- bars. 

 Blue, with white wing bars, edged with black. 

 Silver, coriesponding to the blues. 

 Scaled winged swallows. On the ends of the coloured wing coverts 

 are small white points resembling the scales of a fish : 



Black, red, and yellow, with white scales or chequers on the coverts, 



in addition to white wing bars. 

 Blue, with white scales, and white wing bars edged with black. 

 Blue, with white black-edged scales, and white wing bars edged with 



black. 

 Silvers, corresponding to the blues. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE CARMELITE PIGEON. 



The Carmelite described by Boitard and Corbie, whose description has 

 been mostly copied by Brent in his book, is evidently a variety of the 

 swallow pigeon. M. Corbie, who had the breed under his care for nearly 

 fifty years, considers M. Pournier, who was keeper of the aviaries of the 

 Count de Clermont, mistaken in classing them as swallows in his account 

 of pigeons supplied to the naturalist, M. Bnffon ; but the only difference 

 between the common swallow and carmelite, as figured by Boitard and 

 Corbie, is that the latter is smaller, has a crest, and more feet feathering 

 than the former, which is smooth-headed. The markings are the same. 

 In all probability the carmelite of Boitard and Corbie was the Niirnberg 

 swallow. Brent, whose illustrations are mostly copies from Boitard and 

 Corbie, has the carmelite similar in outline to them, but he has reversed the 

 markings, showing it to be a magpie-coloured pigeon. How he fell into 

 this error I cannot imagine, unless he understood the word ' ' manteau ' ' 

 to refer to the scapular and back feathers, instead of to the wing coverts . 



