282 FIRDS 



shoulders and narrow at the tail, which is short, very tight, 

 or " whip," and carried low. The hackles, saddles and tail 

 coverts of the male should be short and scant. Although the 

 cockerels naturally have low combs and small wattles, it is 

 customary to remove them entirely, the operation being 

 known as " dubbing." 



The most popular breed is the Black-breasted Red, 

 which is of the color of the original Red Jungle- fowl. This 

 bird is extensively bred in this country, and probably repre- 

 sents the highest type which has yet been obtained. 



Next in popularity come the Duckwings. They are of 

 two varieties, the Silver and the Golden. The cock has the 

 markings of the Black-breasted Red, except that white is 

 substituted for red throughout the plumage. Thus in the 

 Silver Duckwing the hackle, saddle, median wing coverts 

 and the outer edges of the secondaries are white, the re- 

 mainder of the plumage being black. In the Golden Duck- 

 wing the wing coverts are straw-colored. The females are 

 gray above, finely mottled with a darker shade, the Golden 

 being somewhat darker than the Silver. The neck hackles 

 are black, edged with gray, while the breast is pale salmon. 

 The two varieties are commonly interbred. 



The male Brown-breasted Red is somewhat similar to 

 the Black-breasted, except that the colored portions of the 

 upper plumage are pale lemon instead of reddish-orange. 

 The feathers of the breast are also narrowly edged with this 

 shade. The female is strikingly different, being entirely 

 black, except for the lemon edging on the feathers of the 

 neck and breast. 



The Birchen is one of the loveliest of Game Bantams. 

 It duplicates the Brown-breasted Red, except that the lemon 

 markings are replaced by silvery white. 



In the Red Pyle the black markings of the Black-breasted 

 Red have been replaced by white, leaving the orange-red 



