Pigeons Birds 
to approximate perfection. These royal four are 
Carrier, Pouter, Barb and the short-faced Tumbler. 
Secondly, there are varieties which possess distinc- 
tive qualities regardless of color, and have a strong 
tendency to transmute them to their young; these 
are Jacobins, Long-faced Tumbler, Owl, Oriental 
Frill, Turbit, Fantail, Show-Antwerp and Runt. 
Thirdly, there are the Toy pigeons, which depends 
almost entirely upon color to distinguish them from 
other pigeons, such as the Swallow, Helmet, Nun, 
Archangel, Magpie and others. 
Fourthly, is a bird lacking distinct color or shape, 
but possessing the instinct of returning home, and 
an endurance which causes it to rank as a fancy pig- 
eon, this is called the Antwerp or Homer. 
SOME PIGEON VARIETIES* 
The Carrier does not, as its name would indicate, 
carry messages, but is kept as a fancy pigeon valued 
only for shape, size and color. It is a large, strongly 
built bird, with long feathers and a rough appear- 
ance. Its neck is stately, its shoulders broad. At 
the base of the beak is the Carrier’s chief. glory, the 
beak wattle, a bare fleshy growth; around the eye is 
a bare circle of skin called the eye cere. The 
Carrier was undoubtedly the pigeon that figured in 
the Arabian Nights, for it came originally from 
Bagdad. 
The Pouter is a very tall bird, and stands nearly 
perpendicularly on its long slender legs. It has won 
its fame by being able while strutting to inflate its 
breast with air. Its marking consists of a crescent of 
*These notes on the breeds of pigeons were written for the author by 
Professor H. Freeman Button, of Vincennes University, who has had con- 
siderable experience in judging pigeons at various shows. 
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