161 
POWTER OR CROPPER PIGEON. 
Columha var. Gutturosa subrubicunda, 
PLATE XV 
Columba (var.) gutturosa subrubicunda. — Pigeon grosse 
gorge soupe en vin, Monog. des Pig. Domesl. p. 173. 
The faculty of inflating the oesophagus, to a li- 
mited extent, appears to be possessed by the pigeon 
and all its varieties, and is no doubt in some way 
connected with and essential to its economy ; but 
in this variety it is developed to an extraordinary 
extent, far exceeding that of any of its congeners, 
and can only be considered as resulting fiom a mon- 
strous or unnatural formation of the gullet. In what 
is considered the pure, or most esteemed examples of 
this sort, that is, where this power is the greatest, 
the oesophagus, when fully inflated, sometimes equals 
the body itself in dimensions. As might be sup- 
posed, this peculiarity subjects the bird to many in- 
conveniences, and frequently to fatal accidents, for 
when thus puffed out to its full extent, the bird, in 
order to sustain its centre of gravity, is obliged to 
keep in an upright or nearly perpendicular position, 
VOL. IX. L 
