176 PIGEONS. 



These birds were also alluded to by Willughby, in the passage quoted at 

 page 55. 



Writing of these varieties, Mr. Brent says : — 



" I have seen some pigeons of this sort in Germany, where they are called 

 ' Ring-Schlagen Tauben,' i. e., Ring-beating pigeons ; and, apart from their 

 strange movements and actions, I could see nothing else in them different to other 

 common kinds. They are considered very productive, but I am not aware that 

 any are now to be found in England. 



" The Smiter is described by M. Boitard and M. Corbie, French writers, as 

 follows : — ' They are a little stouter than the Tumblers, have a small cere round 

 the eyes, which are black; the feet are feathered. "Whatever the size of the place 

 in which they are, they rise to the top, and come down again in circles, turning 

 first one way and then the other, and they turn round in flying even in their 

 dovecots ; hut they are quarrelsome and jealous. In plumage (they say) they are 

 grey, with black marks on the wings, red, or pearly white, with a pure white horse- 

 shoe mark on the back. They frequently break some of then- wing feathers by 

 the violence of their movements, which seem to resemble convulsions ; and they 

 are generally very productive.' " 



