Chap. VI. THEIR REVERSION IN COLOUR. 197 



blue, being most frequently white in Europe, and very generally 

 blue in India. 25 We have seen that the wild C. livia in Europe, 

 and dovecots in all parts of the world, often have the upper 

 wing-coverts chequered with black; and all the most distinct 

 races, when blue, are occasionally chequered in precisely the 

 same manner. Thus I have seen Pouters, Fantails, Carriers, 

 Turbits, Tumblers (Indian and English), Swallows, Bald-pates, 

 and other toy-pigeons blue and chequered ; and Mr. Esquilant 

 has seen a chequered Runt. I bred from two pure blue Tumblers 

 a chequered bird. 



The facts hitherto given refer to the occasional appearance in 

 pure races of blue birds with black wing-bars, and likewise of 

 blue and chequered birds ; but it will now be seen that when 

 two birds belonging to distinct races are crossed, neither of 

 which have, nor probably have had during many generations, a 

 trace of blue in their plumage, or a trace of wing-bars and the 

 other characteristic marks, they very frequently produce mongrel 

 offspring of a blue colour, sometimes chequered, with black 

 wing-bars, &c. ; or if not of a blue colour, yet with the several 

 characteristic marks more or less plainly developed. I was led 

 to investigate this subject from MM. Boitard and Corbie 26 having 

 asserted that from crosses between certain breeds it is rare to get 

 anything but bisets or dovecot pigeons, which, as we know, are 

 blue birds with the usual characteristic marks. We shall here- 

 after see that this subject possesses, independently of our present 

 object, considerable interest, so that I will give the results of 

 my own trials in full. I selected for experiment races which, 

 when pure, very seldom produce birds of a blue colour, or have 

 bars on their wings and tail. 



The nun is white, with the head, tail, and primary wing- 

 feathers black ; it is a breed which was established as long ago 



* Mr. Myth informs me that all the alone. In some other Indian pigeons 



with the croup perfectly white sent in Tn^ *• i. •, • , 



™ v™ ai* w Fiiint f,ir^ 7 Va fantai1 (sported into Amoy, and 



me by Sir W. Elliot fiom Madras A thence sent me) has a perfectly white 



slaty-blue and chequered Nakshi pigeon croup. ^ : 



lias some white feathers on the croup 26 , Leg Pigeong} , ^ 3?> 



