THE ACCOUTERMENTS OF A PIGEON MESSENGER Left, the capsule containing the message, which is attached to a leg of the bird; center, the loft and squadron numbers stenciled on the wing feathers; right, an identification marker. ries a double rose frill on his breast, ORIENTAL FRILLS ARE PEERLESS BIRDS Oriental Frills (see Color Plate XI), regarded by their owners as gems of the Orient, were introduced into England about 75 years ago by H. P. Caridia, a former resident of Asia Minor. There this variety was originated hundreds of years ago and held sacred for centuries. The Orientals have outstripped both the Turbit and the Owl in the race for popularity, and, without disparaging the others, appear to be entitled to the esteem they have won. In them the fancier has pigeons with at least three different shades of color on one feather; pigeons which come from the nest with one group of color tones and which assume an entirely new group on reaching maturity. The four subvarieties in greatest favor are the Satinette, the Blondinette, the Bluette, and the Silverette. The Satinette has a white body with penciled or laced wings. The penciling may have the appearance of blue, black, dun, sulphur, or brown tracing, and the outspread wings resemble a fine piece of iridescent lacing. The blue-laced Satinettes have blue tails, with a white spot, or moon, near the tip of each feather. In the others the tails are laced like the wings. The Blondinettes are colored or laced all over. The Bluettes and Silverettes have white bodies and blue or silver wings. A peculiarity of their marking is that the bars of their wings are white edged with pink and not black, as in other varieties. The heads of Orientals should resemble those of Turbits, but the Turbit peak, although desired, is not required, and a good plain-headed specimen will defeat a poorer bird with a peak. The legs and feet are covered with short, thick feathers, resembling the stockinged feet of a grouse. The coloring on Orientals is so rare that many fanciers of other varieties have tried to introduce it into their birds, but, so far as is known, without success. On the other hand, if Owl or Turbit blood is introduced into the Orientals, the structural properties sought there from have The gentleness of these birds makes the Dove (or Pigeon) an appropriate symbol of peace in Christian lands. The Japanese, on the contrary, consider it a messenger of war. been obtained and the pure Oriental coloring regained in full within a few generations. TALKING PIGEONS There is an old story down South about a darky who was told to clean up a pigeon loft. A few seconds later he emerged, pale in color, his eyes bulging, and swore he would never go back. "Deed, Boss, dem pigeons talks too much fo' me! De minute Ah went in dey begin sayin', 'Look at de coon; look at de coon; look at de coon,' and Ah never could stan' no one lookin' or talkin' at me when Ah's a workin'!" The Russian or Bokhara Trumpeter is the greatest talker among pigeons. He is a heavy, booted fellow, with a rose crest, and, while busy about the loft, sounds like TWO GOLD STAR MOTHER PIGEONS WHOSE CHILDREN NEVER CAME BACK FROM THE WAR These birds were also couriers during the European conflict and might properly wear service stripes as well as stars. They, like many other Homing Pigeons, were entrusted with vital messages which they carried successfully throughout artillery barrage and machine-gun fire from the front-line trenches to headquarters during history-making offensives (see text, pages 86, 87, 91, and 92). a trumpeter at practice with a low-pitched SHORT-FACED PIGEONS REQUIRE It is impossible to describe all the varieties of fancy pigeons seen at shows. There is, for example, the great class of German toys, with more than twenty subvarieties, including Swallows (see Color Plate X), Frill Backs (whose feathers grow the reverse of those of all other birds), Helmets (see Color Plate IV), and Priests. There are the Magpies (see Color Plate XII), beautiful birds with wild magpie coloring, only richer; the Hungarians, parti-colored birds bred for centuries; the Mookees, Snabians, Sherajees, Chinese Dewlaps, Starlings, Mode nas (said to come in sixty or more colors), and numerous others. Fancy pigeons mate like the Homers and, as a rule, are good parents. The short-faced birds, however, need assistance to bring up their young, and unless "wet nurses" are provided, valuable youngsters may be lost. Fanciers who like several varieties can solve this problem by transferring the eggs from shortfaced to long-faced birds and vice versa, for the short-faces, while apparently unable to rear their own young, are able to feed those with longer beaks. If a fancier belongs to a pigeon club, he marks his birds with a registered seamless band, which is placed on one leg when. the baby pigeon is about five days old. Pigeons are exhibited as youngsters and as old birds. Some, such as Carriers, Barbs, and Orientals, do not appear at THE WORLD'S CHAMPION UTILITY PIGEON AND SOME OF THE 75 CUPS HE HAS WON: A CALIFORNIA PRODUCT their best until they are from three to five years old. Others, such as Pouters and Fantails, coarsen with age. In England pigeons are judged both in their single coops and in walking pens, and are marked on the double showing. In the United States only the walking pen is used. In this every bird has to display himself before the judges, just as a horse or dog performs in the tanbark ring. THE FAMILY TREE OF A SILVER-COLORED FANTAIL Up to ten years ago, American Fantail breeders had striven in vain for good silver-colored birds. In 1916 a pair of my blue Fantails hatched a beautifully colored silver sport, which, upon maturity, proved to be a hen. The next season the parents were remated, but produced only ordinary young and no silvers. Then a mating between the young silver hen and a blue cock of good type and light color gave me two blue youngsters, both cocks. The following year a mating of the better-colored of these two young cocks back to his mother gave two young, both silvers and both hens. One of those hens has yet to be beaten in the showroom, and last season one of her sons was a champion silver and a grandson won first in his class. In 1919 the process of inbreeding continued, the old hen being remated to her son, who had produced two silver hens, and the better young silver hen to her blue half-brother, who was also her uncle. These matings resulted in all silvers, both cocks and hens. Since then these birds have been inbred, line bred, and outcrossed (but only on the original family of blues), and to-day the silvers are among the best in my large family of Fantails. My success in producing this winning strain of silvers was due to several factors. One was the abandonment of the original parents and failure to use the old blue father with his silver daughter. Another was that, thanks to a brother fancier, the very best blues of that time were obtained for use. A third factor was that KING GEORGE'S PIGEON LOFT AT SANDRINGHAM, ENGLAND It is feeding time and the birds are waiting for the "dining hall doors" to open. Although the Old World's love of pigeons goes back to prehistoric times, these birds were not used as couriers until the First Crusade, when Christian commanders found the Saracens employing them to convey information. mere perversity caused me to reject completely the stock scientific formula that yellow mated to blue would give silver. The offspring produced by this experiment were not only numerous after the second year, but of high quality and resulted in fine silver males which to-day, if bred to blues, produce more silver than blue youngsters. Regressions constantly appear in the best of pigeon families. A strain of blue Fantails first utilized ten years ago has been bred ever since, with only two outcrosses, one on silver and the other on white. All of these birds were cleanlegged, as Fantails are supposed to be; yet last season an excellent young blue hen with grouse-feathered feet appeared. Also, Fantails are supposed to have fine smooth heads, with no sign of peak or crest, but a pair of birds whose ancestry was known for more than five generations produced a crested Fan. With regard to breeding for color, yellow saddleback birds have produced reds, blacks, and checkers, but no yellows; red saddlebacks have given not only reds and blacks, but pure whites. Last year, in an effort to improve blue saddles, a mating between a saddle cock with a solid-blue hen gave a pure-white youngster which proved good enough to win at a Fantail club meet. The question naturally arises as to what one is to do with these sports and throwbacks. If they are outstanding in good quality, they should be kept and bred, as they possess dominant natures and will, as a rule, influence their descendants for years to come. If bad, even though unusual, they should be killed, for breeding from an inferior causes birds to deteriorate. PIGEONS FOR PIE Pigeons are good to eat, and if one breeds only from the best, there are certain to be plenty for the pot. There are several varieties of pigeons bred mainly for the table, including Runts. |