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present strain of silver grey in that breed ; they were bred with 

 pearl or light eyes, but red eyes are preferred by most breeders now ; 

 the cock is a glossy black in breast, thighs, belly, primary wing 

 feathers and tail, with a blue bar across the wing; in hackle, 

 shoulders, saddle and secondary wing feathers, a clear silvery white ; 

 the hen a beautiful blueish silvery grey, marked with darker pencil- 

 ling, quite free from any rusty feathers on the wings, the tail dark 

 and hackle silvery white striped black, legs and beaks are white and 

 the breast is fawn colour ; no strain will breed more true to colour 

 than these. 



YELLOW BIEOHEN. 



The brown-breasted yellow birchen with yellow eyes, beaks, 

 and legs, are not often seen now ; they are hard, gamey-looking 

 birds, the hackle and saddle feathers a pale straw colour, having a 

 shade of birchen showing thoughout ; the wings brown, as are also 

 the secondaries, wanting the bar across and white space, as seen in 

 the Duckwings. Mr. Nunis' strain of Yellow Birchens, known as 

 the butcher breed, from their killing qualities, held their own for 

 some years in the early part of the present century. 



YELLOW OE GOLDEN DUCKWINGS. 



This is a very handsome variety. The cock should have a clear 

 hackle, free from ticks or stripes, and of a bright straw colour ; 

 saddle feathers one shade darker, shoulders should be a bright yet 

 deep golden colour, the wing has a clear steel blue bar across it, the 

 triangular space on the remainder of the closed wing being pure 

 white ; breast, thighs, belly, tail, primary wing feathers and tips of 

 the secondaries black; the legs yellow or willow. The hen re- 

 sembles the silver Duckwing hen in colour, except that the appear- 

 ance is not quite so silvery and the breast is a deeper fawn colour ; 

 the hackle white, striped lightly with black, tail shaded to black, 

 any rusty hue on the wings is very objectionable. Yellow Duck- 

 wings are frequently bred from a bright-coloured black breasted red 

 cock and good coloured Duckwing hens, and a silver Duckwing cock 

 is sometimes nsed for bringing back the pure colour in pullets. The 

 Isle of Wight Yellows, so famous in days gone by, are all now 

 extinct, although a few strains have a dash of their blood. 



