The Shield—The Priest. gt 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



THE SHIELD PIGEON. 



This is a German breed, which takes its name from its marking. Die 

 Schild Oder Declceltmibe (the shield or cover pigeon) is of two kinds, one 

 smooth-legged, the other heavily hocked and feather-legged and footed. 

 The latter, which is preferred, is the larger of the two, andis a low, broad- 

 chested, thick-set pigeon, of the field type in head and beak. The eye is 

 dark. The marking is that known as tnrbit or shonlder marking, and to 

 be right, which they rarely are, they mixet neither have white wing butts 

 nor foul thighs. Although pigeons of the shield type are sometimes hooded, 

 and even double crested, these belong to a sub-variety of the trumpeter, 

 to be afterwards mentioned ; the head of the true shield is nncrested. In 

 colour they are found black, red, yellow, blue, silver, and in mixed colours, 

 both plain and with white wing bars. Blues of the latter kind have a. 

 black edging on the bars. The rarest are yellows, with white bars. In 

 this breed some are spangled, marbled, or chequered on the shoulders, 

 with two or three colours, like some of the eastern frilled and Modena 

 pigeons. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



THE PRIEST PIGEON. 



The priest pigeon, the Pfaffentaiibe of Germany, where it is extensively 

 bred, is now well known in this country in several of its numerous varieties. 

 The general form of the priest is that of a stoutly-built thick-set pigeon, 

 rather larger than the common field pigeon, with which it agrees in shape- 

 of head and beak. It is found in the following varieties : 



The common priest, which is considered the original of the others, is 

 found in black, blue, red, yellow, and in off colours, with a white upper 



