THE PIGEON BOOK iii 



important of the two, for from this aspect you can easily 

 sum up the entire shape of skull. The next item to claim 

 attention is eye, which should be centrally placed in head 

 and as white as crystal. No matter how fine a specimen 

 you have, should it possess a nasty reddish eye it will 

 only be worth a few shillings. Nothing is more attractive 

 to a judge going down a row of pens at a show than a 

 bird with a bold white eye. It is bound to call for atten- 

 tion, particularly when surrounded by a fine threadlike 

 cere, well feathered up all round, and in Blacks and 

 Blues as dark as possible — in fact, absolutely black if it 

 can be produced, which undoubtedly it can be if bred 

 for. Thus we have dealt with head and eye, with which, 

 in conjunction with the next point, beak, we have at least 

 two-thirds of the Tumbler. The beak should be fairly 

 straight set on the skull, not too straight like a match- 

 stick stuck in an apple, close fitting and of fair thickness 

 and not too long, with small neat wattle. Again, great 

 value is deducted from a bird failing in beak. That 

 beautiful, fat, chubby appearance of face as described 

 above is at once lost if finished off with a long thin dove- 

 like beak, which at once gives it a so-called " snipy " 

 look. 



Having now, I hope, made it perfectly clear as to 

 what is required in forming the headgear, I will now pass 

 on to the next most essential item in the construction of 

 a typical Tumbler, i.e., body, which should be as short 

 and thick as ever it is possible, prominent, and wide in 

 chest. This, with the addition of a short, closely-folded 

 tail, and nice broad well-tucked up flights about three- 

 eighths of an inch shorter than tail and just resting on 

 tail, simply puts on the finishing touch. A bird with the 

 correct body formation and length of feather should, 

 from the shoulder to end of tail, be just like a wedge, and 



