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Show DOMESTIC PIGEONS. C IIAP. v. 140 tt . . tho rock-pigcOJl. 'rho Carrier was nearly half an inch Jonglr ~~1~ ~ngno is very long. The uvpm· mn.ndil>lc is often slightly arcl:c . r wattle round the eyes, over iho dcvclo,,mont of the carnnculatcd Rl~n o .:~~ . s Tho cyclidR, measured t d'blc IS prowO'lOll · noRtrils, n.ncl on the lower mn.n I ~ "' tly twice as long as in the longitudinally, were in Rome spccJJUcns cxac l . Tl1c extci·nal orifice or furrow of tho noRtrils was also twice ror c-Jllgeon. ' ·" · ·75 of an l Tho open mouth in its widest part waR m one case . as ong. . ·t · nJ bout ·4 of an mob. inch in width, whereas in the rock-pJ~eon I Is o y a . fl . d cd cs This great width of mouth is shown m tl~c skeleton by the I.e ex~ naiT~W of the rnmus of the lower jaw. The head IS flat on the summ1t an _ between the orbits. The feet arc large and coarse; tbe length, as mea C IIAI', V. DESCRIP~'ION OF BREEDS. 141 sured from end or hind too to end of middle too (without tho claws), was in two Rl>ecimom; 2·6 inches; and this, proportionally with the rockpigeon, is an exccsR of nearly a quarter of an inch. One very :fino Carrier measured 31~ inches from tip to tip of wing. Birds of this sub-race are too valuable to be flown as carriers. Sub-r·acc II. Dmgons; P ersian Oar-rie1·s.- The English Dragon differs from tho improved English Carrier in being smaller in all its dimensions, and in having less wattle round the eyes and over tho nostrils, and none on the lower mandible. Sir W. Elliot sent me from Madras a Bagdad Carrier (sometimes called kbandesi), tho name of which shows its Persian origin; it woulJ be considered hero a very poor Dragon; the body was of tho size of tho rock-pigeon, with tho beak a little longer, namely, 1 inch fl'om tho tip to the feathered base. Tho skin round the eyes was only slightly wattled, whilst that over tho nostrils was fairly wattled. Tho llon. C. Murmy, also, sent me two Carriers direct from Persia; these had nearly the same character as the Madras bird, being about as largo as tho rock-pigeon, but tho beak in one specimen was as much as 1·15 in length; tho skin over the nostrils was only moderately, and that round tho eyes scarcely at all wattled. Snb-race JJI. Bagadotten-'l'auben of Neumeister (Pavdotten or HockorTauben).- Iowo to tho kindness of Mr. Baily, jun., a dead specimen of this singular breed imported f1·om Germany. It is certainly allied to tho Runts; novorthcloss, fi·om its close affinity with Carriers, it will be convenient hero to describe it. Tho beak is long, and is hooked or bowed downwards in a highly I'emarkablo manner, as will be seen in tho woodcut to he hereafter given when I treat of tho skeleton. The eyes are surrounded by a wide space of bright red skin, which, as well as that over the nostrils, is moderately wattled. Tho breast-bone is remarkably protuberant, being abruptly bowed outwards. Tho feet and tarsi arc of great length, large1· than in first-rate English Caniors. The whole bird is of large size, but in proportion to the size of the body tho feathers of tho wing and tail arc short; a wild rock-pigeon, of considerably less size, had tail-feathers 4·6 inches in length, whereas in the largo Bagadotton those foathe1·s wore scarcely over 4·1 inches in length. Riodel 9 remarks that it is a very silent bird. Sub-r-ace IV. Bussomh Oa?·r-iM".-Two specimens were sent me by Sir W. Elliot from 1\fadras, one in spirits and tho other skinned. The name shows its Persian origin. It is much valued in India, and is considered as a distinct breed from the Bagdad Carrier, which forms my second sub-race. At first I suspootocl that these two sub-races might have been recently formed by crosses with other breeds, though tho estimation in which they arc held renders this improbable; but in a Persian troatise,10 believed to have boon written about 100 years ago, tho Bagdad and Bussorah breeds arc described as distinct. Tho Bussorah Cal'l'im· is of about tho same size with tho wild rock-pigeon. Tho shape of tho beak, with some little carunculatecl skin over the nostrils,-tho much elongated eyelids,-tho 9 'Die 'l'aubenzucht,' Ulm, 18~4. s. Mohammed Musari, who died in 1770 : I 42. owe to tho great kindness of Sir W. Elliot 10 'l'his tre.Ltiso was wrilten hy Sayzid a translation of this curious trentisr. |