CHAPTER XIX. 



NUNS, HELMETS, AND SPOTS. 



rPHE Nun is an old and well-known variety, originally described by Moore as— 

 ■*- " A. bird somewhat larger than a Jacobine ; her plumage is very particular, and 

 she seems entirely to take her name from it, her being as it were covered with a 

 veil. Her body is all white ; her head, tail, and six of her flight feathers ought to 

 be entirely black, red, and yellow ; and whatever feathers vary from this are said 

 to be foul, though the best of them all will sometimes apt to breed a few foul 

 feathers, and those that are but little so, though not so much valued, will often 

 breed as clean-feathered birds as those that are not. A Nun ought likewise to be 

 pearle-eyed, and to have a white hood or tuft of feathers on the hinder part of the 

 head, which the larger it is, adds a considerable beauty to the bird." 



The copyists of Moore, the compilers of the Treatise and of Girton's work, add 

 nothing of any great value to this account. In the Treatise it is stated : — 



" The Nun is a bird that attracts the eye greatly, from the contrast in her plu- 

 mage, which is very particular. Namely, if her head be black, her tail and flight 

 should be black likewise ; if her head be red, then her tail and flight should be 

 red ; or if her head be yellow, her tail and flight should be also yellow ; and are 

 accordingly called either red-headed Nuns, yellow-headed Nuns, &c. Should a 

 black-headed Nun have a white or any other coloured feather in her head, except 

 black, she would be called foul-headed ; or a white feather in her flight, she would 

 be called foul-flighted, &c, and the same rule stands good in the red-headed or 

 yellow-headed Nuns." 



Mr. Brent, who was very partial to this pretty breed, writes as follows : — 



" Of all the toy pigeons the Nun is perhaps the best known and most cultivated 

 in England. It is much admired for its pretty appearance and the contrast of its 

 colours ; it is with me a very favourite pet, from the fact of its having been the 

 very first I had to call my own ; nevertheless, I regret to see it take precedence, as 

 it sometimes does at our shows, of such birds as Jacobines, Turbits, or Barbs, 

 which have many properties, while the pretty Nun is truly a toy, having but one 

 property, namely, feather. The Nuns are about the size of common dove-house 

 pigeons, but stouter made, and rather more elegantly shaped ; the beaks are long 

 and dove-shaped ; the eyes should be pearl-coloured, though occasionally gravel, 

 but a black eye is a great fault. They are merry, active, and good breeders ; they 

 are clean-footed, and being sharp flyers, are capable of finding a part of their food 



Y 



