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Show 142 DOMESTIC PIGEONS. CJIAP. v. . 1 tho narrow bcad,-thc feet propot·- l>road mouth measured ~tarnal y,-. . ·_ nd tho general appearance, 1joually a little lo~gcr ~lu1~ m tho ro~k-p~fcc;nCa~·icr ; yot in one specimen all show that tlus bll'd 1s an un ou tl in tho rock-pigeon. In tho the beak was of exactly tho same lc~g 1 a:ung of tho nostrils) was only other specimen tho bc~k (as well as t ? ol:pc Although thoro was a con-littl l . v1z by ·08 of alt me 1. a very o ongcr, >· • • ulatcd skin round tho eyes, sidorablo space of !1aro and sli?lttly s~a~n~cgrcc rugose. Sir W. Elliot that over the nos~rils wa~ ?nlyb~~d\h goyc seems rcmarlmbly largo and informs me that m tho h~mf. u ti :a in tho Persian treatise; but tho prominent and tho same !ltC IS no c . bony orbit' is barely larger than that in the ~ock-I:a%:s by Sir W. Elliot Am t tbc several breeds sent to me rom d ongs - ) . black birds with tho beak slightly elongate , thoro is a pair of tho Aalct 1 atr:1 . thor f~ll and with a little naked skin . tl th skin over the nos r1 s m ' . tl to W1 t c Tl . h. cd seems more closely alljcd to tho Carner Ian round tho eyes. ~s 10 ·J . to. cdiato between tho Bussorah Carrier any other breed, bcmg ncar y m rm and tho rock-pigcoJ~. d . diff:' . nt parts of Europe and in India to tho 'rhe names ~PP110 . m 11 01 ' . 1 v d of earners a pom? t to Pcr·s1·a or tho smrounding countries < . • • scvow nn s f thi R And it deserves especial notwc that, oven If w.o as tho source o s ace. · b k b very lee~ the Kal:l Par as of doubtful origin, wo got a sencs :oh en yt' . neg . . ·om tho rock-pigeon, through tho Bussorah, whi~ some liDOS smaH stops, fr 111 no·m· than that of tho rock-pigeon and wJth the naked ]Ia~ a b ak not at a. o d t:>ovcr tho nostrils very slightly swollen and carunslan round the eyes an Ba dad sub-race and Dragons, to our improved culatcd, through th~ g . lions a di1fcroncc from the rockEnglish Carriers, wluch present so marve pigeon or Columba liuia. HACE III.-RuNTS. (Scanderoons: .Die Florenti~cr-~aube and Ilinkel-Taubc of Neumeister: Pigeon Bagadms, PJgeon Romain.) Beale long, massive; body of great size. Inextricable confu. ion reigns in tho classification, affinities, and _namin~ of Runts. Several characters which are gcncr~lly pretty constant m other i()'cons, such as tho length of tho wings, tail, l?gs, and. neck~ and tho ;mount of naked skin ronnel the eyes, arc cxccsslvcly van.able ~ Runts. When tho naked skin over the nostrils ~nd round t~o eyes ~ co~s1dcrably developed and wattled, and when tho s1zo of body 1s not very g~e~t, ~un~s .1 te m· so insensible a manner into Carriers, that the dlStinctwn 1S qguraituou aa rbitrary. This fact 1. s li.k eWi.s e shown b Y th~ names g1'v en .t o them in different parts of Europe. Nevertheless,. takin? the most .~~sd tinct forms at least five sub-races (some of them mc~udmg well-m_ar f varieties) c~n bo distinguished, which differ in such 1m~ort~nt pomts ~f structme, that they would be considered as good spcmes m a state natme. . Fl t· d Hinkel- s b-··ace I. Scandm·oon o" English w1·iters (Dw oren mer an . Tauub e ' of Ne· umeister).-Bri~ rds of this sub-race, of w. h 1' ch 1 k op t on c ahve CHAP. v. DESCRIPTION OF BREEDS. 143 and have since seen two others, differ from the Bagadotten of Neumeister only in not having the beak nearly so much cmvcd downwards, and in tho naked skin round tho eyes and over tho nostrils being hardly at all wattled. Ncvorthcl ss I have felt myself compelled to place the Bagadottcn in Race II., or that of tho Carriers, and tho present bird in Race Ill., or that of the Hunts. The Scandcroon has a very short, narrow, and elevated tail; wings extremely short, so that tho first primary feathers wore not longer than those of a small tumbler pigeon! Neck long, much bowed; breast-bono prominent. Beak long, being 1·15 inch from tip to feathered base; vertically thick; slightly curved downwards. Tho skin over tho no. ·trils swollen, not wattled; naked skin round the eyes, broad, slightly carunculated. Legs long; foot very large. Skin of neck bright red, often showing a naked medial line, with a naked l'Od patch at tho distant end of tho radius of tho wing. My bird, as measmed f1·om the base of tho beak to the l'Oot of tho tail, was fully 2 inches longer than tho rockpigeon; yet tho tail itself was only 4 inches in length, whereas in tho rockpigeon, which is a much smaller bird, the tail is 4t inches in length. Tho ffinkel or Florontincr-Taubo of Neumeister (Table XITI., fig. 1) agrees with tho above description in all the specified characters (for the beak is not mentioned), except that Neumeister expressly says that the neck is sh01t, whereas in my Scanderoon it was remarkably long and bowed; so that tho Hinkel forms a well-marked variety. Sub-race II: Pigeon Cygne und Pigeon Bagadais if Boitard and Corbit (Scandcroon of French writers).-! kept two of these birds alive, imported from France. They differed fi·om tho first sub-race or true Scandcroon in tho much greater length of tho wing and tail, in the beak not being so long, and in the skin about tho head baing more carunculated. Tho skin of tho neck is red; but tho naked patches on the wings arc absent. One of my birds measured 38~ inches from tip to tip of wing. By taking the length of the body as the standard of comparison, tho two wings were no less than 5 inches longer than those of the rock-pigeon! The tail was G! inches in length, and therefore 2! inches longer than that of tho Scanderoon,-a bird of nearly the same size. The beak is longer, thicker, and broader than in tho rock-pigeon, proportionally with tho size of body. Tho eyelids, nostrils, and internal gape of mouth arc all proportionalJy very large, as in Carriers. The foot, from the end of the middle to end of hind too, was actually 2·85 inches in length, which is an excess of ·32 of an inch over the foot of tho rock-pigeon, I'elatively to the size of tho two birds. Sub-race III. Spanish and Roman Runts.-! am not sure that I am right in placing these Runts in a rustinct sub-race; yet, if we take wellcharacterized birds, thoro can be no doubt of tho propriety of tho separation. They are heavy, massive birds, with shorter necks, legs, and beaks than in the foregoing races. Tho skin over tho nostrils is swollen, but not carunculatcd; the naked skin round tho eyes is not very wide, and only slightly caruncula ted; and I have seen a fine so-called Spanish Runt with hardly any naked skin round the eyes. Of the two varieties to be seen in England, one, which is the rarer, has very long wings and tail, |