2g6 Fancy Pigeons. 



The great proportion of croppers are of the bar-winged colours, blue 

 and dun (i.e. mealy) being the commonest. The blue ought, of course, 

 to have black bars, but kite-barred blues are very common. The dun, 

 like all mealy pigeons, has a light tail. Its neck and wing bars ought to 

 be bright red, and its wing coverts of a clear light mealy, when it is 

 called a miller dun. A red dun has the wing coverts of a reddish tinge, and 

 between the miller dun and cinnamon there are many degrees of colour, 

 according to the amount of red in the plumage. Cloth (i.e., silver) is one of 

 the prettiest colours, and is of many shades. Its neck and wing bars vary 

 from a light dove-coloured to a hard blackish dun ; a beautiful golden 

 chesnut dun being the most pleasing tint. Its wing coverts ought to be 

 of a soft creamy dun, only dark enough to show up the rose pinion. This 

 colour has, of course, a dun tail, barred to match the neck and wings. 

 Cloths are mostly hens, a really good cloth cock being rather a scarce 

 pigeon. Creams (i.e., yellow mealies) are also usually hens, and very 

 rare. They have, of course, a light tail, and their colour is so delicate 

 that a rose pinion is scarcely distinguishable on their wings. Their 

 necks and wing bars ought to be rich yellow. The barred colours are 

 very much inter-bred, the result being left to chance ; in fact, it is usual 

 to breed two good birds together, no matter what colour they are ; 

 hence, unless when breeding from a pair of the same colour, and not 

 always then, it is impossible to predict what the young ones will be 

 like. To improve blacks, yellows, and cinnamons, they ought, of 

 course, to be kept distinct from the barred colours. As all the solid 

 and primary barred colours are found in croppers, the intermediate or 

 chequered also exist in great variety of shades, but they are not 

 generally liked or bred for. Pure white birds are occasionally seen, and 

 whites with coloured tails are an old and favourite variety. There are 

 three colours of them, viz., black, blue, and cloth-tailed birds. To be 

 properly marked they ought to be entirely white, witJi the exception of 

 the tail and its upper and under coverts. Some coloured feathers on the 

 head are often found in them, as well as a white feather or two in the 

 tail or among the under tail coverts, which do not look well when they are 

 flying. Their tail primaries ought to be sound in colour, but are fre- 

 quently very much grizzled with white. The cropper is very often mis- 

 marked in having an excess of white, though I have had a few of them 

 very well marked to the pouter standard. A deficiency or total want of 



