THE I'IGEON STANDARD. 37 



Neck. — Lengthy and slender, rather straight and erect, and 

 well cut away at its juncture with the throat onwards 

 to the under mandible, and absolutely devoid of 

 gullet. 



Body. — (1) Chest — Wide and full, but not projecting to the 

 front. (2) Shoulders — Wide and flat, showing mus- 

 cular power. (3) Back — Long and straight, sloping 

 from shoulders towards the rump, and showing a 

 slight hollowness rather than the reverse. (4) Wing 

 Butts — To protrude slightly beyond the chest. (5) 

 Beeast Bone — Long and straight, showing moderate 

 depth of keel. 



Legs and Feet. — Stout, muscular and long, both from thighs 

 to knee joints, and from the latter to the instep. 

 Tliighs thinly feathered to the knee joints; thence 

 to the tips of the toes, the legs and claws, free of 

 feathers. Claws firmly set, spreading well out from 

 the ball of the foot, nails of the same color as the 

 beak. 



Flights and Tail. — Long in shaft and moderately wide in 

 web. The flights should be carried on a level with 

 the body and be closely tucked up, resting over the 

 tail, the latter should form a continuous slope in 

 continuation of the back and rump, and be carried 

 quite clear from the ground at its extremity. 



Size. — Large, measuring as nearly as possible 18 inches from 

 the tip of beak to end of tail in length, and 4J inches 

 across the widest part of the body, i. e. from shoulder 

 to shoulder. 



Carriage. — Erect, upright and sprightly ; in observant atti- 

 tude. 



Plumage.— With the exception of flight and tail feathers, 

 all the plumage should be short in feather, fitting 

 very close and compactly to the body, especially on 

 the neck, head and shoulder coverings. 



Colors.— (1) Blacks— Ebony shade with deep green lustre. 

 (2) Duns — Of one shade all through from head to 

 tail. (3) Blues — Sound but clear tint; dark on 

 rump, showing distinct wing and tail, black bars. 

 (4) Whites— Milk-white, displaying a "satin like" 

 lustre on the hackle and breast. 



Note. — In estimating the value to be allotted to the beak 

 wattle and the eye cere, age and sex must be taken 

 into account. As a general rule, the Carrier pigeon 

 is at its best between 3 and 4 years of age. 



