144 THE PIGEON BOOK 



common pigeon, but the breast, instead of being light, 

 with a light patch like the Suabian, is somewhat dark 

 against a lighter colour. I have only seen the Swiss 

 pigeon in the peculiar colour of its own, which is a silver 

 tint, with black bars and feather legs. The ground- 

 colour in all the varieties should be of a satiny white tint 

 shaded off a mealy or dun. The wing-bars are to be 

 found in red, similar to the breast markings, and the breast 

 crescent should show plenty of lustre and be of a distinct 

 moon shape, which adds to the beauty of the bird. It 

 will be seen from the illustration that the Swiss pigeon is 

 heavily feathered in the leg and feet. 



The Suabian. 



The Suabian pigeon is very much after the Starling 

 family in appearance, except that it is lighter in colour 

 and the markings are perhaps more distinctive. The head 

 of the Suabian is of a somewhat similar appearance to 

 the head of the Archangel, with the tuft ; but the Suabian 

 has a distinctive mark on the breast. It is small like the 

 Starling, but a perfectly marked specimen is certainly a 

 very attractive pigeon. Messrs. Boitard and Corbie call 

 it Le Pigeon Coquille de Souabe. It is not such a hardy 

 breeder as the ordinary Starling, and, as a rule, the birds 

 exhibited are plain-legged, but occasionally one finds them 

 with feathered legs. 



The Spot. 



The Spot is one of the feather-legged or muffed 

 varieties, and is a most peculiarly marked pigeon. Both 

 Perre de Roo, Boitard and Corbie, refer to the variety 

 as having a white tail and a spot on the head, in addition 

 to the white marking and the bars. As a rule, the white 

 spot pigeon is referred to in England as the " Blaze 



