, PIGEOSS. 



Pied, mottled, or fowl-featliered, are of tte commonest. Tie 

 mahomet, or mawmet pigeon,- as it is called, is probably 



nothing but a white or cream- 

 coloured barb, with a cross of 

 the tnrbit in many instances. 



Aldrovandus says that the eyes 



should be crocns-colonted, but 



English fanciers prefer them 



pearl, surrounded by a broad 



cere of naked, red skin — the 



BAEB PIGEONS. broader, evener, and redder it is, 



the more are the birds esteemed ; 



the neck long and thin ; the chest full ; the body long ; the 



feet rather stout, and the pinion-feathers very long. 



The spot, one of our oldest- established " toy " pigeons, ie 

 supposed to have been first introduced into this country from 

 Holland. The name is derived from a coloured spot on the 

 head. 



In size, form, and manners, they resemble the common 

 dove-house pigeons. They are pretty, very productive, and 

 well adapted to find their living in the fields. ^ They are 

 sometimes turn-crowned, though generally smooth-headed, and 

 clean-footed; the eye is dark, as is the upper mandible, and 

 the lower is white ; on the front of the head, above the beak, 

 is an oval-coloured spot, from which they derive their name ; 

 and the tail is also coloured ; the rest of the plumage is a clear 

 white. Spot and tail are of the same colour, either black, 

 blue, red, or yellow. They are designated black, blu,e, or red 

 spots, accordingly. 



THE HELMET. 



This bird, at one time very common in. this country, is now 

 but seldom seen. The upper mandible is dark, the lower light ; 

 the top of the head, in a bne from the comers of the moutk 

 across the eyes, is coloured, giving the bird the appearance of 

 wearing a cap or helmet; the tail is also coloured, the rest 

 of the body being white, except in ■ tljiose that are feather- 

 footed, in which the feathers on the feet, from the heels or 

 hocks down the toes, are coloured like the head and tail ; the 

 irides are often black, though very frequently broken or half- 

 coloured. 



