108 PIGEONS. 



stronger constitution — in fact, not so high bred. They may be met with of 

 various grades of goodness, like most other fancy articles. Their plumage is the 

 most varied of all pigeons : there are whole colours, of black, blue, white, red, 

 yellow or buff, silver, dun, ash-coloured, and kite, also mottles of all these. There 

 are two kinds of mottles, dark and light ; the dark have only a few feathers of 

 white about head and shoulders ; the white mottles must have the whole of the 

 flight and tail dark, the rest of the body white, interspersed with a few coloured 

 feathers. Then there are the pieds ; first, the Magpie Tumbler, black, blue, red, 

 or yellow, with white wings, breast, thighs, and vent, evenly marked without one 

 coloured feather, the rest of the body being dark without any white. I have also 

 seen reds and yellows with quite white shoulders like shields. The Germans have 

 a large variety of Tumblers, which fly well and tumble very nicely ; they are of 

 various colours, either whole coloured, or dark with white flight and tails, often 

 with a small beard, and their feet are covered with very long white feathers, many 

 of the feathers on the toes measuring four or five inches in length. I kept a flight 

 of them when in Germany, and was agreeably surprised to find them excellent 

 high flyers and very prolific; but, to my great discomfiture, when I had got them 

 almost to perfection in flying, a large hawk made a daily descent upon them, and 

 so reduced their numbers that I was obliged to leave off flying them. These 

 rough-footed" Tumblers I found very plentiful in and about Coblentz, on the Rhine. 

 In other parts of Germany they have -many clean-footed Tumblers of various 

 colours, as Magpies, Helmets, and Beards ; but their Beards have only a white 

 beard and flight-feathers, the rest of the body being dark, of various colours. 

 Respecting Rolling Tumblers, I am not able satisfactorily to answer ; but from all 

 that I can learn, they are only those birds that tumble very much, and known as 

 Dutch Tumblers, but are not much esteemed by the flying fanciers on account of 

 their falling so much that they bring down the flights." 



In a subsequent letter Mr. Brent continued, — " The old-fashioned high-flying 

 Tumbler pigeons, that tumbled regularly, though not much, that were pleasant- 

 faced, and flew high and long in a compact flight, are now, I fear, to be reckoned as 

 birds of the past, the nearest approach to them being the Belgian Volants ; but 

 these do not tumble. The high-flying Tumblers of the present day seem to me to 

 be generally coarse birds, often patchy-coloured : some of these, however, roll or 

 tumble well, and others fly for four or five hours at a time when in proper training 

 and condition. There is also a large variety of feather-footed Tumblers, known as 

 Rollers. Mine of this breed are kites, blacks, kite-mottles, black-mottles, and red- 

 mottles ; they are large for Tumblers, and heavily feather-footed, and all tumble 

 a great deal. Now and then one will roll till it touches the ground. I had one 

 that could not fly down, but always descended by a roll, and as he frequently hurt 

 himself by such proceedings, I found it necessary to keep him confined. There are 

 also clean-legged Rollers which roll very much. I have several cocks that I am 

 afraid to let out because they roll till they touch the ground, and I fear they may 

 injure themselves, yet they are first-rate to breed from ; while others roll or spin, 



