TOO 
The Illustrated Book of Pigeons. 
They are lovely birds when good, and it is to be hoped fanciers will see that they do not go 
down again. 
“ Colour and marking, though by no means the most valuable properties of a Pouter, give a 
great deal of trouble to the breeder. They could soon be got alone, but they all the more 
essential points must be kept up ; for what would a good fancier care for a Pouter, however perfect 
in colour and marking, if not well up in the higher properties ? It will be apparent, therefore, 
to all intelligent fanciers that it is a very difficult matter to breed a bird with a fair proportion of 
all the properties together ; but, as before observed, this very difficulty should stimulate, not 
discourage, breeders. 
“ The standard colours, as they are called, are black, blue, red, and yellow, pied. They all 
have their admirers, and are all very beautiful ; still, I believe a majority of fanciers will give the 
Black-pied the highest place, the contrast of colours being so great when they are of the rich glossy 
black, which shows the better the stronger the light it is placed in. They have, however, in other 
respects serious drawbacks, being generally heavy birds, and short in limb, though often long in 
feather. In marking they are often faulty, and in one respect it may be said always so, that is, 
they have foul legs ; a Black-pied, well-marked otherwise, with clean thighs being indeed a 
rara avis. Some, however, have been bred lately with clean legs, and also thin in girth and light 
in the hand, and of course this can be done again with more ease and certainty, until the fault is 
the exception instead of the rule as at present. Another blemish to which these birds were 
subject was the ‘ snip,’ as it is called in Scotland, or white patch, or blaze on the forehead. Nearly 
all the best birds had it twenty years ago, and many had the ‘ ring-head,’ a worse blemish still ; 
now it is a rarity to meet with either, though the best bred birds will ‘ throw back,’ and at times 
produce one or other, and, curiously enough, birds having these blemishes are in general very fine 
in all other respects. The foul thighs, however, remain, and as this fault appears to have beaten 
the old fancier, we cannot expect to see the last of it for years to come. 
‘ Blue-pied have preserved their colour on the whole better than any of the others, whether 
by greater care having been bestowed on them, or by the colour being more easily kept — the 
latter I think most likely, as they have, like the others, been crossed with all colours. A fine, well- 
pied Blue Pouter is a grand bird, the beautiful black bars being a property none of the others have ; 
and when they are of a jet black, and well defined, they add greatly to the beauty of the bird. 
“ Red-pied were, until these few years back, very fine birds, many of them being of the deep 
blood-red so much valued, but now so scarce, and they had in general fine limbs and clean. Now, 
however, foul thighs seem the rule, and the colour may be described as ‘ bad and worse,’ very few, 
indeed, being really fine in that respect, and it is high time breeders should direct particular 
attention to this. 
“Last, but not least, come the Yellow-pied. They are lovely birds when nearly up to the 
standard, but, as before remarked, this colour was nearly lost. At one time, I believe, it would have 
been impossible to have found a dozen fairly good Yellows in Britain. They were short in feather, 
and often with heavily-feathered limbs — more of the Trumpeter style than the Pouter, though marking 
was good, and sometimes the colour also. They had very little crop, and were short in limb, and 
in place of a rich deep yellow it was too often only a pale straw-colour, with a chequery or 
dappled appearance. There is nothing to assist the breeder but Reds, and they now unfortunately 
want assistance as well. 
“ After the four standard colours, the Mealy beyond a doubt deserves the next place. The 
colour is a long way behind the preceding, but they have always been noted as being 
generally handsome birds ; thin in girth, long in limb and feather, with fine carriage, so that with 
