270 Fancy Pigeons. 



stretched out. Its walk is heavy, and its flight laborious, on account of 

 its short wings, which, besides, are sparsely covered with feathers, and 

 the prominent bones of the shoulders appear nearly bare. Ifc produces 

 little, and is not now much sought after by amateurs, who formerly did 

 not grudge to pay up to ten louis a pair for them. This is no doubt 

 owing to the little grace of their form, and the destruction they make in 

 the aviary in plucking and killing the young of others with their for- 

 midable beak. This bird is the largest of all pigeons. M. Corbie has 

 one large enough to drink out of an ordinary bucket without the least 

 trouble. There has been seen, with a fancier coming from Germany, a bird 

 called a hen 'pigeon " (Leghorn runt, or liiihnertaube) , " in all respects 

 like thoBatavian, except having no beak and eye wattle." 



The illustration of this curious pigeon has been copied by Brent, on 

 page 21 of his book, and called by him the Scanderoon or great horseman. 

 It has much in common with my drawing of the Leghorn runt, but its 

 very short tail is carried below its flights. I can scarcely believe that 

 it originally belonged to Batavia, though brought thence to Prance. 

 There has been a trade for centuries between Batavia and the Persian 

 Gulf. It is a question whether the hiihnertaubeii, or Leghorn runt race, 

 owe their peculiar form to some cross with such a breed as this, in the 

 remote past, or not. This pigeon is said to be the largest of all, not 

 excepting the runt or pigeon Eomain. It is also described by Neu- 

 meister, who gives a drawing of it, coloured red, on plate 17 of his book, 

 as the Pranzusische Bagdette. He describes it in similar terms to the 

 foregoing, adding, that the tail is sometimes carried upright, but must 

 not be like a swallow's tail, probably meaning that it must be close and 

 not spUt. He says the plumage is close, fitting the body so tightly that 

 all its parts are sharply prominent, especially the shoulders and the 

 breast bone, the bare skin being often visible on these parts, which is a 

 •peculiarity, more or less, of aU the carrier race. Brent says : " I have 

 met with very fine specimens in France by the name of Swan-necked 

 Egyptians. They are very large pigeons, almost as large as the beat 

 runts. They are thinly covered with feathers, and these lie very close to 

 the body ; neither are the taU and pinion feathers remarkable for length. 

 Their beaks are very long and somewhat bent, and they have a moderate 

 wattle, of a whitish colour, and the cere round the eyes is broad and 

 red. The head is flat ; the neck long, thin, and much bent ; the shoulders 



