244 FOWLS. Chap. VII. 



also remarked to me, that, although with domestic pigeons we 

 have so great a diversity of colouring, we never see either pen- 

 cilled or spangled feathers; and this fact is intelligible on the law 

 of analogous variation, as neither the wild rock-pigeon nor any 

 closely-allied species has such feathers. The frequent appearance of 

 pencilling in crossed birds probably accounts for the existence 

 of " cuckoo " sub-breeds in the Game, Polish, Dorking, Cochin 

 Andalusian, and Bantam breeds. The plumage of these birds 

 is slaty-blue or grey, with each feather transversely barred with 

 darker lines, so as to resemble in some degree the plumage 

 of the cuckoo. It is a singular fact, considering that the 

 male of no species of Gallus is in the least barred, that 

 the cuckoo-like plumage has often been transferred to the 

 male, more especially in the cuckoo Dorking ; and the fact is all 

 the more singular, as in gold and silver pencilled Hamburghs, 

 in which pencilling is characteristic of the breed, the male is 

 hardly at all pencilled, this kind of plumage being confined to 

 the female. 



Another case of analogous variation is the occurrence of 

 spangled sub-breeds of Hamburgh, Polish, Malay, and Bantam 

 fowls. Spangled feathers have a dark mark, properly crescent- 

 shaped, on their tips; whilst pencilled feathers have several 

 transverse bars. The spangling cannot be due to reversion to 

 (r. banhiva ; nor does it often follow, as I hear from Mr. Teget- 

 meier, from crossing distinct breeds ; but it is a case of analogous 

 variation, for many gallinaceous birds have spangled feathers, — 

 for instance, the common pheasant. Hence spangled breeds 

 are often called " pheasant "-fowls. Another case of analogous 

 variation in several domestic breeds is inexplicable; it is, that 

 the chickens, whilst covered with down, of the black Spanish, 

 black Game, black Polish, and black Bantam, all have white 

 throats and breasts, and often have some white on their wings. 31 

 The editor of the ' Poultry Chronicle ' 32 remarks that all the 

 breeds which properly have red ear-lappets occasionally produce 

 birds with white ear-lappets. This remark more especially 

 applies to the Game breed, which of all comes nearest to the 



31 Dixon, * Ornamental and Domestic p. 260. 

 Poultry,' pp. 253, 324, 335. For game 32 « Poultry Chronicle,' vol. ii. p. 71. 



fowls, see Ferguson on * Prize Poultry,' 



