The African Owl Pigeon. 215 



better, and if it is not present in a bird when hatched it never conies 

 later. With age it generally thickens at its junction with the lower man- 

 dible, forming there a little lump, which is, in fact, a jew-wattle. This 

 gives a fulness to a bird's appearance, but it cannot be got on a 

 young one. Gullet, to a more or less extent, is seen sometimes in various 

 kinds of pigeons ; but the owl tribe and Mahomet are the only races in 

 which it is regarded as necessary. In them it is a beautiful property, 

 giving them that breadth across the neck in profile which adds so much 

 to their appearance, and without which they fail to look well. 



jPriiJ is the property in which the African owl is most deficient. Great 

 numbers have been imported entirely wanting in this necessary adorn- 

 ment, while the most have far too little of it. Such frills as the wonderful 

 whiskered owls have are never seen on African owls. The frUl ought to 

 spread out on each side of the breast, the more of which it covers the 

 better, and it is formed by the feathers composing it growing out in all 

 directions. It ought not to lie in any particular position, but stand out 

 from the breast roughly, as I have attempted to show in my drawing. 

 The more confusedly the feathers forming it grow the better it looks. 

 Where it joins the gullet it ought to divide and spread to right and left, 

 and so form the figure of a cross. Hence this race is sometimes called 

 " cross ' ' pigeon in Germany {Kre.uz-iaxihe) . None of the owl tribe, with 

 the exception of the whiskered owl, to be afterwards described, are yet 

 complete in this beautiful property, and when they will be it is impossible 

 even to guess, for their standard of perfection is one so complex and 

 difficult of attainment, that to have aU of it fairly good, is as hard a task 

 as the whole fancy presents, excepting the standard of no variety what- 

 ever. 



iejrs anS, feet small and neat, bright red in colour, and free of feathers 

 from the hocks down. 



Colotir, self coloured white, blue, and black. It wUl be noticed that 

 Moore has mentioned these colours as those of the owl, and that other 

 colours were not mentioned till thirty years later. The majority of 

 African owls as imported are whites, and black and blue pieds, whole 

 blues and blacks being, however, not uncommon. The number of splashed 

 birds that come would favour the idea, from their appearance, that no 

 regard is paid to the matching of them for colour. The only apparent 

 regular marking is white, with black or blue tail ; bnt nothing comes 



