THE COMMON TUMBLER. 109 



bo as to revolve two, three, or four times at one throw ; and I have bred some that 

 I have counted roll sixteen times in a minute." 



The homing instinct is well developed in the ordinary flying Tumblers; we have 

 had in our possession birds of this variety that have repeatedly returned home 

 forty or fifty miles. At the present time some of the lower class of pigeon 

 fanciers, especially those residing at the East End of London, have devoted much 

 attention to the raising of what are termed by them the "Long-faced Beards;" 

 these are birds possessing the markings of the Bearded Tumbler, conjoined with a 

 long slender beak. They are admirable homing pigeons, though not able to 

 perform the long journeys that are effected by the Belgian " Voyageurs." 



