DOMESTIC PIGEONS 91 



is able to puff out the feathers of its throat 

 until it seems as if the bird had swallowed an 

 orange. The short-faced tumbler is endowed 

 with an extremely short beak and a bulging fore- 

 head. The legs of the shield are heavily muffled 

 in feathers which stick outward like an extra pair 

 of wings. The runt, a utility breed and the big- 

 gest of all, sometimes weighs two and a half 

 pounds. These are only a few of the results of 

 artificial selection. 



Again, returning to the color of the birds, we 

 learn that the "standard colors," as recognized 

 by fanciers, may be white, black, dun, red, or yel- 

 low. Blue, silver, mealy, and cream are "off 

 colors." Checkers — ^birds with bar markings — 

 may be blue, black, or red, but never silver, dun, 

 or yellow. 



Tumblers 



With this short review of what goes to make a 

 "fancy" bird, we shall pass on to the more impor- 

 tant * ' sporting" breeds and those which help make 

 sport. They are the ones which attract most at- 

 tention in this country and Europe, and may be 

 divided into three general groups: (1) breeds 

 selected for agile flying and quick manceuver in 

 the air; (2) birds used for shooting (no particular 

 breed) ; and, most important of all, (3) breeds 



