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Show 160 DOMESTIC PIGEONS. CnAP. V. same brood, as in caronllly bred J acobinu and Trumpeters. ~Carriers there is often a conspicuous difference in tho degree of attenuatiOn and cur~ature of tho beak. So it is indeed in many br'ccds: thus I had two sh·ams of black Barbs, which evidently differed in tho curvatu~e of the .upper mandible. In width of mouth I have found a great diffcren~o m t~o Swallows. In Fantails of first-rate merit I have seen some biTds with much loncrer and thinner necks than in others. Other analogous facts could be given. oWe have soon that the oil-gland is aborted in all Fantails (wit? the exception of the sub-race from Java), and, I may add, so hereditary IS this tendency to abortion, that some, although not all, of tho mongrels ii·om tho Fantail and Pouter had no oil-gland; in one Swallow out of many which I have cxamjncd, and in two Nuns, there was no oil-gland. The number of tho scutellre on the toes often varies in the same breed, and sometimes oven differs on the two foot of the same individual; tho Shetland rock-pigeon has fifteen on tho Illiddle, and six on tho hinder toe; whereas I have soon a Runt with sixteen on the middle and eight on the hind toe· and a short-faced Tumbler with only twelve and five on those same too~. Tho rock-pigeon has no sensible amount of skin between its toes ; but I possessed a Spot and a Nun with tho skin extending for a space of a quarter of an inch from the fork, between the two inner toes. On tho other hand, as will hereafter bo more fully shown, pigeons with feathered foot very generally have tho bases of their outm· toes connected by skin. I had a reel Tumbler, which had a coo unlike that of its fellows, approaching in tone to that of tho Laugher: this bird had the habit, to a degree which I never saw equalled in any other pigeon, of often walking with its wings raised and arched in an elegant manner. I need say nothing on the great variability, in almost every breed, in size of body, in colour, in the feathering of tho feet, and in the feathers on tho back of the head being reversed. But I may mention a remarkable Tumbler 20 exhibited at tho Crystal Palace, which bad an irregular crest of feathers on its head, somewhat lilre tho tuft on tho head of the Polish fowl. Mr. Bult reared by n,ccident a hen Jacobin with the feathers on tho thigh so long as to reach the ground, and a cock having, but in a lessor degi·co, tho same peculiarity : from these two birds he bred others similarly characterised, which were exhibited at tbe Philoporisteron Club. I bred a mongrel pigeon whlch had fibrous feathers, and tho wing and tail-feathers so short and imperfect that the bird could not fly even a foot in height. 'fhere are many singular and inherited peculiarities in the plumage of pigeons: thus Almond-Tumblers do not acqnire their perfect mottled feathers until they have moulted three or four times: the Kite-Tumbler is at first brindled black and red with a barred appearance, but when "it throws its nest feathers it becomes almost black, generally with a bluish tail, and a reddish colour on the inner webs of the primary wing feathers." 29 N en- 2R Described nnd figured in the 'Poultry Chronidr,' vol. iii., 1855, p. 82. 29 • 'I'ho Pig-ron Book,' by Mr. D. P. Drrat, 185!), p. 41. CHAP. v. SINGULAR VARIATIO "S. 161 moister describes a breed of a black colour with white bars on tho wing and a white crescent-shaped mm·k on the breast; these marks arc generally rusty-red before the first moult, but after the third or fomth moult they undergo a chango; the wing-feathers and the crown of tho head likewise then become white or groy.30 It is an important fact, and I believe there is hardly an exception to tho rule, that the especial characters for which each brood is valued are eminently variabte: thus, in tho Fantail, tho nnm bcr and direction of the tail-feathers, tho carriage of the body, and tho degree of trembling arc all highly variable points; in Pouters, the degree to which they pout, and the shape of' their inflated crops; in the Carrier, the length, narrowness, and curvature of tho beak, and tho amount of wattle ; in Shortfaced Tumblers, tho shortness of the beak, the prominence of tho forehoa<l, and general carriage, 31 and in the Almond Tumbler the colonr of the plumage; in common Tumblers, the manner of tumbling; in tho Barb, the breadth and shortness of the beak and tho amount of eye-wattle; in Runts, the size of body ; in 'l'urbits, tho frill ; and lastly in Trumpeters, the cooing, as well as the size of tho tuft of feathers over the nostrils. These, which are the distinctive and selected characters of the several breeds, are all eminently variable. There is another interesting fact with respect to tho character of the different breeds, namely, that they are often most strongly displayed in the male bird. In Carriers, when tho males and females arc exhibited in separate pens, the wattle is plainly seen to be much more developed in the males, though I have seen a hen Carrier belonging to Mr. Haynes ht>avily wattled. 1\fr. Tegotmeier informs me that, in twenty Barbs in Mr. P. H. Jones's possession, the males had generally the largest eyewattles; Mr. Esquilant also believes in this rule, but Mr. II. Weir, a first-rate judge, entertains some doubt on tho subject. 1\Ialc Pouters distend their crops to a much greater size than do the females; I have, however, seen a. hen in the possession of Mr. Evans which pouted excellently; but this is an unusual circumstance. Mr. H an·ison vVeir, a successful breeder of prize :!0 ' Die Staarhlilsige Taube, Das Ganzo, &c.,' s. 21, tab. i. fig. 4. ~ 1 'A 'freatiliC on the Almond Tum- VOJJ. T. bier,' by J. l\L Eaton, 1852, p. 8, ei passim. l\T |