The Rinoheater 



117 



tliat when it is salacious and plays to the female it turns only one way, 

 whereas the other turns both ; it has no tuft on the hinder part of the 

 head, neither is it snake-headed." 



Brent says he only saw one pair of ringbeaters, which were at 

 a pigeon dealer's in Coblentz. They were common-looking birds with 

 peaked crowns, and red and white plumage. Their peculiar movement 

 and circling flight were described to him, and he noticed that the vanes 

 were beaten off the ends of their flight feathers. 



Boitard and Corbie describe the Pi(/eons-Toiirnans as stronger than 

 tumblers, stocking-legged, generally blue cheqered, red, or pearl white 

 in colour, marked with a pure white horse-shoe mark on the back. 

 " Whatever may be the space they are shut up in, they ascend to the 

 ceiling, then descend, describing circles, first to right then to left, abso- 

 lutely like a bird of prey, which hovers and then chases from high in the 

 air." They say amateurs have discarded them on account of their 

 quarrelsome and jealous disposition, which causes much mischief in 

 the aviary. 



The Pigeon Lillois Claquart, or Lille clapper, is a variety of the Lille 

 pouter, which they say has been confounded with the turner. " It 

 makes a noise with its wings when commencing to fly, like a clapper ; 

 hence its name." This is a usual thing with half-bred pouters, and I 

 have often seen such kept as decoys for stray pigeons. 



Brent could find nothing in the German authors regarding the ring- 

 beater ; but in the last edition of Neumeister I find the best description 

 of this curious breed, from which it appears they may now be got not only 

 with all their peculiarities of flight, but bred to feather as well. He says — 

 or rather Herr Gustav Priitz, editor of the last edition says — "The 

 excellent pigeon fancier, Piihrer, describes this pigeon, ciuite unknown in 

 the North of Germany, in the following way : The ringbeater is a pigeon 

 only yet appearing on the lower Ehine, and here and there in Westphalia, 

 of stately size, strong figure, and good bearing. The head is covered with 

 a pointed hood ; the forehead of middle height, the beak light coloured, 

 the irides according to the plumage, the eyelids bright flesh coloured, the 

 neck robust, breast and back proportionately broad, the legs and feet 

 smooth." He describes a peculiarity in the primary wing feathers, which 

 I understand to be that the fifth from the outside is very much shorter 

 than the fourth, so that when the wing is extended the four longest 



