i=;2 Fancy Pi^'-coiis. 



liave ^vatclied tlieru on a clear day till they seemed no biggror than mites, 

 and then lost them alto^irether. Tumblers when allowed unlimited freedom 

 become lazy and unwilling^ to fly, and they seldom fly in concert. Some 

 remaining on the housetops are seen b}'' those in the air, and this tends 

 to bring them down sooner than they might otherwise come. 



Great care and much trouble is necessary in getting up a good flight 

 of tumblers ; birds that will not rise must be weeded out, and to insure 

 success they must be flown only at stated times. The morning is the best 

 time, before they are fed ; and after they return to their loft, they should 

 be confined till late in the afternoon or till next morning, according to 

 the wishes of their owner. To fly tumblers systematically is indeed a 

 separate branch of the pigeon fancy, ■wliich is only excelled in by such as 

 lay themselves out for it. I have known fanciers, including myself, buy 

 the best soaring birds that money could buy, and I hare seen them gi-adu- 

 ally deteriorate, for want of the necessary attention being bestowed on 

 them. As to the time a flight of good tumblers will fly, from two to four 

 hours is not uncommon, and I have seen it mentioned that no loss than 

 eleven hours have been done in a match, I am not acquainted, however, 

 with the rules for conducting such matches, whether the birds must keep 

 flying voluntarily, or whether their owner is allowed to prevent them 

 settling if ho can. Tumblers require special training for flying time 

 matches. Parched peas are considered the best feeding for them, as 

 they take long to digest, and assist in keeping up their strength during 

 the time they keep on the wing. "Without such special food they would 

 become faint in a few hours. 



The tumbler is spread in great variety throughout Europe and Asia. 

 It has long been known in this country, and is described by Willughby 

 (1678). He says : " These are small and of divers colours. They have 

 strange motions, turning themselves backwards over their heads, and 

 show like footballs in the air." The ordinary tumbler of this country is 

 a small pigeon, thin in the neck, full in the breast, of medium length in 

 flights and tail, short legged, and free of leg and foot feather. The head 

 is round and free from sharp angles, and the forehead of middle height. 

 The beak should be short and thin, or what is known as a spindle beak. 

 The beak and eye wattle should be as small and unpronounced ag possi- 

 ble. The eye should be white or pearl coloured in the iris, but is usually 

 of a red pearl, not nearly so white as in the Continental cumulet. There 



