The Swift. 113 



perfected by selection. If lost, breeders could not recover them, but 

 would have to wait till nature provided them with a new beginning on 

 which to work. As they exist, they can be kept up, in a fair degree of 

 quality, with but little trouble as compared to many kinds that are called 

 mere feather varieties, fine specimens of which are consequently much 

 more valuable than they are. If fancy pigeons were separate creations, 

 and not descended from a common origin, I wonder how the lace pigeon 

 existed till taken in charge by pigeon fanciers. 



CHAPTER XLII. 



THE SWIFT PIGEON. 



This pigeon, which is of Eastern origin, was first described in Fulton's 

 book of pigeons, by Mr. Ludlow, who says that it is an Indian pigeon, 

 but that it has been cultivated in Cairo and Alexandria, whence the best 

 specimens have been imported into England, hence its name, the Egyptian 

 swift. I never met with it in Bengal, nor heard fanciers there speak of 

 such a variety ; but I believe there are many distinct breeds of pigeons 

 existing in Hindostan, especially in the north west, still unknown to us, 

 and the swift may be among them. This variety of the domestic pigeon 

 has its name from the swift or hawk swallow, on account of its 

 abnormally long flight feathers. Though a bird of ordinary size, it has 

 the appearance of being larger than it is, from the tact of its feathers 

 being long and loose. In this respect it resembles other kinds, such as 

 the trumpeter and jacobin. The wing coverts, on account of their 

 length, incline downwards. Both the flight and tail feathers are exces- 

 sively long, the former being carried crossed above the latter, and 

 measuring as much as 32iin. from tip to tip, when ont-atretohed, 

 according to Mr. Ludlow, who also says that the tail primaries 

 measure 7sin. between tips of quUl and fibre. As a comparison, I 

 measured an ordinary sized flying tumbler cock in the same way, 

 and his out-stretched wings covered 27in., while one of his tail primaries 

 was SJin. The flight and tail of the swift, therefore, extend some 2^-in. 



I 



