The African Owl Pigeon. 211 



Partridge, and the shorter the better ; it has a round button Head, and 

 the Feathers on the Breast open and reflect both Ways, standing out 

 almost like a Fringe or the FrUl of a modern Shirt ; this is oall'd the 

 Purle, and the more of it the Bird has, the more it is admir'd. As for 

 the Feather, their Tail and Back of the Wings ought to be of one entire 

 Colour, as blue, black, red, yellow, dun and sometimes chequer'd ; the 

 flight Feathers and all the rest of the Body shon'd be white. They are 

 a very pretty light Pigeon, and if us'd to fly when young, some of them 

 make very good flyers. I have seen a Flight of them kept by one Girton 

 that wou'd mount almost high as Tumblers. There are of this Sort 

 all white, black, and blue, which by a Mistake are often caU'd and taken 

 for Owls." 



' ' The Owl. — This Pigeon is in make and Shape like the former, except 

 that the upper Chap of its Beak is hookt over like an Owl's from whence 

 it has its Name. Its Plumage is always entirely white, blue, or black." 



Moore also mentions, when writing of the disease called the vertigo : 

 " I once had a Turbit, of the Owl Kind, taken with it in a violent 

 Manner." 



There is no mention of the gullet or crest in this description ; the 

 head, however, is said to be round, and it was not the shoulder marking 

 alone that constituted a turbit, as it might be self-coloured. The differ- 

 ence between the turbit and owl seemed to be only in the beak. 



On reading the descriptions of the turbit and owl in the Treatise of 

 1765, which are very much more extensive than Moore's, it would appear 

 that either some recent importations of finer owls had been made, or that 

 breeders had effected great improvements on the old stock. The illustra- 

 tions accompanying the descriptions differ very little in their outlines ; 

 both are plain headed, exactly alike in beak, that of the owl not being 

 hooked, the chief difference lying in the turbit' s head being very round, 

 while the owl is rather flat-crowned. The author says-. "The owl is, 

 according to Mr. Moore, a small Pigeon, very little larger than a jacobine, 

 which might be their size in his time ; but at present they are brought 

 to such perfection, that they are hardly, if anything, larger than a 

 very small tumbler. ... Its plumage ia always of one entire colour, as 

 white, a fine sky-blue, black, and yellow, &c., except some that are 

 chequered. The blue ones should have black bars cross the wings ; and 

 the lighter they are in colour, particularly in the hackle, the more they 



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