374 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
is fairly well laced on the breast, and as small and stylish as possible, mate him with the broadest-backed 
hens, wide between the legs, lightly laced on breast, and with good hackle, but perfectly sound in body colour. 
These will produce [)ullets uniformly, with laced breasts and good hackles, and the soundest and brightest of 
body colour, just as desired for the Show pen, the cockerels produced from this mating being the best to use 
the following year to breed Show pullets. One thing must not be overlooked in breeding Brown-Reds— it 
will not matter so much if the cock is a little pale in eye, providing the hens he is mated wiih excel in the 
colour of their eyes. 
BIRCHEN-GREY GAME BANTAMS. 
Birchen-Greys are offshoots of the Brown-Reds and Silver-Duckwings crossed, and should be an exact 
replica of the Brown-Reds, substituting ivliitc for the lemon or golden markings. They rank as quite the 
equals of any of the varieties in appearance, and must be just as accurately marked and stylish as the rest of 
the Game tribe. These breed absolutely true to feather, the white and black markings standing out in bold 
and striking contrast. 
GOLDEN-DUCKWING GAME BANTAMS. 
Golden-Uuckvvings are also very beautiful when bred right up to Standard re(iuirements. The cock's 
head and hackle feathers creamy white, free as possible from brown or dark stripes ; the back wing-bows and 
shoulder coverts clear and even orange colour, bright and sound, or even golden yellow, this colour shading 
into straw colour on the saddle hackles ; wing-butts, breast, and thighs, sound blue-black ; belly and under- 
parts, black, quite free from admixture of coloured feathers; wing-bars, steel-blue; secondaries, clear white on 
the lower edge, with a blue-black spot on each end, forming a bar above the white ; the under-parts of the 
secondaries, black; the primaries, black, with a white edge to the bottom of the two lower feathers. The tail 
and sickles should be a bright, lustrous blue-black, without any admixture of other colour; the face and eyes, 
rich bright red, and the legs and feet willow or olive. A cock of this description will breed cockerels the 
counterpart of himself if mated to Duckwing hens light in hackle, pale in breast, and ruddy or rusty-winged ; 
but our plan to breed bright coloured cockerels is to use hens that are Black-Red bred, that is, bred from a 
Black-Red cock and Show Duckwing hens. These are invariably bright light golden in hackle, the streaking 
being light, and the body colour warmer or redder looking than the pure Black-Red hen. We have at times 
also bred good cockerels from a bright-coloured Black-Red cock and ^/^er-Duckwing hens, the pullets so 
bred being useful again for Duckwing cockerel breeding, by being mated as described. The Show Duckwing 
hen must match the cock in colour of face, eyes, legs, and feet ; her breast should be a bright salmon, 
shading off to an ashy-grey on thighs, belly, and under-parts, the ground colour of body and wings being a beauti- 
ful French grey or pale slate-coloured ground, minutely and evenly pencilled with black; the head and neck 
hackle, white, striped with black; the tail, black, but the two top outer feathers of the same colour as the back and 
wings. To breed Show pullets, the Standard cock mated with hens such as described will generally throw 
all desired, but at times the Show Duckwing cock may have a little too much black-red in his composition, 
the pullets bred running rusty ; or the hens may have the same failing. To remedy this he should be mated 
with Silver-Duckwing hens, or a still better plan is to use the Silver-Duckwing cock with the Show Duckwing 
hens. Pullets can be bred much easier than cockerels. 
SILVER-DUCKWING GAME BANTAMS. 
The Silver-Duckwings, or true Duckwings, are similar to the Golden-Duckwings in general markings, 
substituting silvery-white where the Golden cock is coloured, the hens running paler in hackle, breast, and 
body colour throughout. There is no strain of Game which will breed so absolutely true to feather as the 
Silver-Duckwings, cockerels and pullets alike being perfect, from perfect parents. 
RED-PILE GAME BANTAMS. 
Red-Piles are beautiful little birds. They should have red faces and eyes, and either yellow or willow 
legs and feet ; the former is preferred, as yellow matches the plumage better than willow, but in any case the 
beak and legs must correspond. The cock should be red where the Black-Red cock is red, and white where 
