The Swiss. loi 



of spangling, which may be of value in breeding, are comparatively 

 worthless in point of beanty and for show purposes. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



THE SWISS PIGEON. 



This variety is the Schweizertauhe of Germany, where it also goes by 

 the name of moon, crescent, and badge of honour pigeon. In Boitard 

 and Corbie's work, it is called Pigeon Suisse. It is of the common 

 type in head, beak, and body, is smooth-headed, and should be heavily 

 hocked and feather-legged and footed. The irides are yellow or orange, 

 and the beak and nails correspond with the colour of the markings. 

 There are three principal colours in this breed, viz., the re 3, yellow, 

 and black barred. The ground colour of all should be of a satiny white 

 tint, shaded off into a very clear light mealy, buff, or blue according 

 to the colour of the marks ; the first having red or rich brown wing bars 

 and breastplate, which must be a clean out half-moon, as in the illustra- 

 tion ; the second has similar yellow markings, and the third a crescent of 

 the colour cf the neck of a blue pigeon, and black wing bars, and tail bar. 

 The red and yellow marked ones correspond with the red and yellow 

 mealy colours, which do not of course have a dark bar at the end of 

 the tail. The crescent or breastplate should in all be well lustred, and 

 when its points meet at the back oi the neck it is ring-necked, which is 

 a great defect. Neumeister says : " The fledged young ones have no 

 crescent marks on the breast, it only becomes visible after the first 

 moulting. The more the ground colour approaches to pure white, and 

 the darker and narrower at the same time the wing bars are, the more 

 highly is the pigeon valued. It is quite a particular species and loses all 

 value by cross breeding. In the South of Germany and in Switzerland 

 it is often found without wing bars, with smooth feet and a yellowish 

 crescent ; although very heavily feathered feet seem to be peculiar to this 

 race. Among the Swiss pigeons the starling neck is sometimes reckoned, 

 also the whole coloured pigeon with no orescent, but with white wing 



