Chapter V: Domestic Pigeons (1)

ENUMERATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL BREEDS--INDIVIDUAL
VARIABILITY--VARIATIONS OF A REMARKABLE NATURE--OSTEOLOGICAL
CHARACTERS: SKULL, LOWER JAW, NUMBER OF VERTEBRAE--CORRELATION OF
GROWTH: TONGUE WITH BEAK; EYELIDS AND NOSTRILS WITH WATTLED
SKIN--NUMBER OF WING-FEATHERS, AND LENGTH OF WING--COLOUR AND
DOWN--WEBBED AND FEATHERED FEET--ON THE EFFECTS OF DISUSE--LENGTH OF
FEET IN CORRELATION WITH LENGTH OF BEAK--LENGTH OP STERNUM, SCAPULA,
AND FURCULA--LENGTH OF WINGS--SUMMARY ON THE POINTS OF DIFFERENCE IN
THE SEVERAL BREEDS

I have been led to study domestic pigeons with particular care, because the evidence that all the domestic races have descended from one known source is far clearer than with any other anciently domesticated animal. Secondly, because many treatises in several languages, some of them old, have been written on the pigeon, so that we are enabled to trace the history of several breeds. And lastly, because, from causes which we can partly understand, the amount of variation has been extraordinarily great. The details will often be tediously minute; but no one who really wants to understand the progress of change in domestic animals will regret this; and no one who has kept pigeons and has marked the great difference between the breeds and the trueness with which most of them propagate their kind, will think this care superfluous. Notwithstanding the clear evidence that all the breeds are the descendants of a single species, I could not persuade myself until some years had passed that the whole amount of difference between them had arisen since man first domesticated the wild rock-pigeon.

I have kept alive all the most distinct breeds, which I could procure in England or from the Continent; and have prepared skeletons of all. I have received skins from Persia, and a large number from India and other quarters of the {132} world.[275] Since my admission into two of the London pigeon-clubs, I have received the kindest assistance from many of the most eminent amateurs.[276]

The races of the Pigeon which can be distinguished, and which breed true, are very numerous. MM. Boitard and Corbie[277] describe in detail 122 kinds; and I could add several European kinds not known to them. In India, judging from the skins sent me, there are many breeds unknown here; and Sir W. Elliot informs me that a collection imported by an Indian merchant into Madras from Cairo and Constantinople included several kinds unknown in India. I have no doubt that there exist considerably above 150 kinds which breed true and have been separately named. But of these the far greater number differ from each other only in unimportant characters. Such differences will be here entirely passed over, and I shall confine myself to the more important points of structure. That many important differences exist we shall presently see. I have looked through the magnificent collection of the Columbidae in the British Museum, and, with the exception of a few forms (such as the Didunculus, Calaenas, Goura, &c), I do not hesitate to {133} affirm that some domestic races of the rock-pigeon differ fully as much from each other in external characters as do the most distinct natural genera. We may look in vain through the 288 known species[278] for a beak so small and conical as that of the short-faced tumbler; for one so broad and short as that of the barb; for one so long, straight, and narrow, with its enormous wattles, as that of the English carrier; for an expanded upraised tail like that of the fantail; or for an oesophagus like that of the pouter. I do not for a moment pretend that the domestic races differ from each other in their whole organisation as much as the more distinct natural genera. I refer only to external characters, on which, however, it must be confessed that most genera of birds have been founded. When, in a future chapter, we discuss the principle of selection as followed by man, we shall clearly see why the differences between the domestic races are almost always confined to external, or at least to externally visible, characters.

Owing to the amount and gradations of difference between the several breeds, I have found it indispensable in the following classification to rank them under Groups, Races, and Sub-races; to which varieties and sub-varieties, all strictly inheriting their proper characters, must often be added. Even with the individuals of the same sub-variety, when long kept by different fanciers, different strains can sometimes be recognised. There can be no doubt that, if well-characterized forms of the several Races had been found wild, all would have been ranked as distinct species, and several of them would certainly have been placed by ornithologists in distinct genera. A good classification of the various domestic breeds is extremely difficult, owing to the manner in which many of the forms graduate into each other; but it is curious how exactly the same difficulties are encountered, and the same rules have to be followed, as in the classification of any natural but difficult group of organic beings. An "artificial classification" might be followed which would present fewer difficulties than a "natural classification;" but then it would interrupt many plain affinities. Extreme forms can readily be defined; but intermediate and troublesome forms {134} often destroy our definitions. Forms which may be called "aberrant" must sometimes be included within groups to which they do not accurately belong. Characters of all kinds must be used; but as with birds in a state of nature, those afforded by the beak are the best and most readily appreciated. It is not possible to weigh the importance of all the characters which have to be used so as to make the groups and sub-groups of equal value. Lastly, a group may contain only one race, and another and less distinctly defined group may contain several races and sub-races, and in this case it is difficult, as in the classification of natural species, to avoid placing too high a value on characters which are common to a large number of forms.

In my measurements I have never trusted to the eye; and when speaking of a part being large or small, I always refer to the wild rock-pigeon (_Columba livia_) as the standard of comparison. The measurements are given in decimals of an inch.[279]

I will now give a brief description of all the principal breeds. The following diagram may aid the reader in learning their names and seeing their affinities. The rock-pigeon, or _Columba livia_ (including under this name two or three closely-allied sub-species or geographical races, hereafter to be described), may be confidently viewed, as we shall see in the next chapter, as the common parent-form. The names in italics on the right-hand side of the table show us the most distinct breeds, or those which have undergone the greatest amount of modification. The lengths of the dotted lines rudely represent the degree of distinctness of each breed from the parent-stock, and the names {135} placed under each other in the columns show the more or less closely connecting links. The distances of the dotted lines from each other approximately represent the amount of difference between the several breeds.

The parent-form of all domesticated Pigeons.]

{136}

COLUMBA LIVIA or ROCK-PIGEON

GROUP I. GROUP II.

1. SUB- 2. 3. 4.
. GROUPS. .
. Kali-Par
. .
. .
. ...Murassa
. .
. .
. Bussorah
. .
. ....................
. . . . .
. . Bagadotten . .
. . . . .
. . Scanderoon . .
. . . . .
. . . Tronfo .
. . . .
German P. . . .
. Lille P. . . .
. . Dragon Pigeon .
. . . Cygne .
Dutch P. . . . .
. . . . .
....... . . .
. . . .
English English Runt. Barb.
Pouter. Carrier.

GROUP III. GROUP IV.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. SUB- 10. 11.
. . . . . GROUPS. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . Persian . . . . . . . . .
. . Tumbler . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . Lotan . . . . . . . . .
. . Tumbler . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . Common . . . . . . . . .
. . Tumbler . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Java . . . . . . . . . . .
Fantail . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. Turbit . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . Trumpeter. . . . . . .
. . . . . Laugher. . . . . .
. . . . . English Frill-back. . . . .
. . . . . Nun. . . .
. . . . . Spot. . .
. . . . . Swallow. .
. . . . . Dove-cot pigeon.
Fantail. African Short- Indian Jacobin.
Owl. faced Frill-
Tumbler. back.

{137}

GROUP I.

This group includes a single race, that of the Pouters. If the most strongly marked sub-race be taken, namely, the Improved English Pouter, this is perhaps the most distinct of all domesticated pigeons.

RACE I.--POUTER PIGEONS. (Kropf-tauben, German. Grosses-gorges, or boulans, French.)

_Oesophagus of great size, barely separated from the crop, often inflated. Body and legs elongated. Beak of moderate dimensions._ {138}

_Sub-race I._--The improved English Pouter, when its crop is fully
inflated, presents a truly astonishing appearance. The habit of
slightly inflating the crop is common to all domestic pigeons, but is
carried to an extreme in the Pouter. The crop does not differ, except
in size, from that of other pigeons; but is less plainly separated by
an oblique construction from the oesophagus. The diameter of the upper
part of the oesophagus is immense, even close up to the head. The beak
in one bird which I possessed was almost completely buried when the
oesophagus was fully expanded. The males, especially when excited, pout
more than the females, and they glory in exercising this power. If a
bird will not, to use the technical expression, "play," the fancier, as
I have witnessed, by taking the beak into his mouth, blows him up like
a balloon; and the bird, then puffed up with wind and pride, struts
about, retaining his magnificent size as long as he can. Pouters often
take flight with their crops inflated; and after one of my birds had
swallowed a good meal of peas and water, as he flew up in order to
disgorge them and thus feed his nearly fledged young, I have heard the
peas rattling in his inflated crop as if in a bladder. When flying,
they often strike the backs of their wings together, and thus make a
clapping noise.

Pouters stand remarkably upright, and their bodies are thin and
elongated. In connexion with this form of body, the ribs are generally
broader and the vertebrae more numerous than in other breeds. From their
manner of standing their legs appear longer than they really are,
though, in proportion with those of _C. livia_, the legs and feet are
actually longer. The wings appear much elongated, but by measurement,
in relation to the length of body, this is not the case. The beak
likewise appears longer, but it is in fact a little shorter (about .03
of an inch), proportionally with the size of the body, and relatively
to the beak of the rock-pigeon. The Pouter, though not bulky, is a
large bird; I measured one which was 341/2 inches from tip to tip of
wing, and 19 inches from tip of beak to end of tail. In a wild
rock-pigeon from the Shetland Islands the same measurements gave only
281/4 and 143/4. There are many sub-varieties of the Pouter of different
colours, but these I pass over.

_Sub-race II. Dutch Pouter._--This seems to be the parent-form of our
improved English Pouters. I kept a pair, but I suspect that they were
not pure birds. They are smaller than English pouters, and less well
developed in all their characters. Neumeister[281] says that the wings
are crossed over the tail, and do not reach to its extremity.

_Sub-race III. The Lille Pouter_--I know this breed only from
description.[282] It approaches in general form the Dutch Pouter, but
the inflated oesophagus assumes a spherical form, as if the pigeon had
swallowed a large orange, which had stuck close under the beak. This
inflated ball is represented as rising to a level with the crown of the
head. The middle toe alone is feathered. A variety of this sub-race,
called the claquant, is described by MM. Boitard and Corbie; it pouts
but little, and is characterised {139} by the habit of violently
hitting its wings together over its back,--a habit which the English
Pouter has in a slight degree.

_Sub-race IV. Common German Pouter._--I know this bird only from the
figures and description given by the accurate Neumeister, one of the
few writers on pigeons who, as I have found, may be always trusted.
This sub-race seems considerably different. The upper part of the
oesophagus is much less distended. The bird stands less upright. The
feet are not feathered, and the legs and beak are shorter. In these
respects there is an approach in form to the common rock-pigeon. The
tail-feathers are very long, yet the tips of the closed wings extend
beyond the end of the tail; and the length of the wings, from tip to
tip, and of the body, is greater than in the English Pouter.

GROUP II.

This group includes three Races, namely, Carriers, Runts, and Barbs, which are manifestly allied to each other. Indeed, certain carriers and runts pass into each other by such insensible gradations that an arbitrary line has to be drawn between them. Carriers also graduate through foreign breeds into the rock-pigeon. Yet, if well-characterised Carriers and Barbs (see figs. 19 and 20) had existed as wild species, no ornithologist would have placed them in the same genus with each other or with the rock-pigeon. This group may, as a general rule, be recognised by the beak being long, with the skin over the nostrils swollen and often carunculated or wattled, and with that round the eyes bare and likewise carunculated. The mouth is very wide, and the feet are large. Nevertheless the Barb, which must be classed in this same group, has a very short beak, and some runts have very little bare skin round their eyes.

RACE II.--CARRIERS. (Tuerkische Taube: Pigeons Turcs: Dragons.)

_Beak elongated, narrow, pointed; eyes surrounded by much naked, generally carunculated skin; neck and body elongated._

_Sub-race I. The English Carrier._--This is a fine bird, of large size,
close feathered, generally dark-coloured, with an elongated neck. The
beak is attenuated and of wonderful length: in one specimen it was 1.4
inch in length from the feathered base to the tip; therefore nearly
twice as long as that of the rock-pigeon, which measured only .77.
Whenever I compare proportionally any part in the carrier and
rock-pigeon, I take the length of the body from the base of the beak to
the end of the tail as the standard of comparison; and according to
this standard, the beak in one {140} Carrier was nearly half an inch
longer than in the rock-pigeon. The upper mandible is often slightly
arched. The tongue is very long. The development of the carunculated
skin or wattle round the eyes, over the nostrils, and on the lower
mandible, is prodigious. The eyelids, measured longitudinally, were in
some specimens exactly twice as long as in the rock-pigeon. The
external orifice or furrow of the nostrils was also twice as long. The
open mouth in its widest part was in one case .75 of an inch in width,
whereas in the rock-pigeon it is only about .4 of an inch. This great
width of mouth is shown in the skeleton by the reflexed edges of the
ramus of the lower jaw. The head is flat on the summit and narrow
between the orbits. The feet are large and coarse; the length, as {141}
measured from end of hind toe to end of middle toe (without the claws),
was in two specimens 2.6 inches; and this, proportionally with the
rock-pigeon, is an excess of nearly a quarter of an inch. One very fine
Carrier measured 311/2 inches from tip to tip of wing. Birds of this
sub-race are too valuable to be flown as carriers.

_Sub-race II. Dragons; Persian Carriers._--The English Dragon differs
from the improved English Carrier in being smaller in all its
dimensions, and in having less wattle round the eyes and over the
nostrils, and none on the lower mandible. Sir W. Elliot sent me from
Madras a Bagdad Carrier (sometimes called khandesi), the name of which
shows its Persian origin; it would be considered here a very poor
Dragon; the body was of the size of the rock-pigeon, with the beak a
little longer, namely, 1 inch from the tip to the feathered base. The
skin round the eyes was only slightly wattled, whilst that over the
nostrils was fairly wattled. The Hon. C. Murray, also, sent me two
Carriers direct from Persia; these had nearly the same character as the
Madras bird, being about as large as the rock-pigeon, but the beak in
one specimen was as much as 1.15 in length; the skin over the nostrils
was only moderately, and that round the eyes scarcely at all wattled.

_Sub-race III. Bagadotten-Tauben of Neumeister_ (Pavdotten or
Hocker-Tauben).--I owe to the kindness of Mr. Baily, jun., a dead
specimen of this singular breed imported from Germany. It is certainly
allied to the Runts; nevertheless, from its close affinity with
Carriers, it will be convenient here to describe it. The beak is long,
and is hooked or bowed downwards in a highly remarkable manner, as will
be seen in the woodcut to be hereafter given when I treat of the
skeleton. The eyes are surrounded by a wide space of bright red skin,
which, as well as that over the nostrils, is moderately wattled. The
breast-bone is remarkably protuberant, being abruptly bowed outwards.
The feet and tarsi are of great length, larger than in first-rate
English Carriers. The whole bird is of large size, but in proportion to
the size of the body the feathers of the wing and tail are short; a
wild rock-pigeon, of considerably less size, had tail-feathers 4.6
inches in length, whereas in the large Bagadotten these feathers were
scarcely over 4.1 inches in length. Riedel[283] remarks that it is a
very silent bird.

_Sub-race IV. Bussorah Carrier._--Two specimens were sent me by Sir W.
Elliot from Madras, one in spirits and the 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 suspected that these two sub-races might have been
recently formed by crosses with other breeds, though the estimation in
which they are held renders this improbable; but in a Persian
treatise,[284] believed to have been written about 100 years ago, the
Bagdad and Bussorah breeds are described as distinct. The Bussorah
Carrier is of about the same size with the wild rock-pigeon. The shape
of the beak, with some little carunculated skin over the nostrils,--the
much elongated eyelids,--the {142} broad mouth measured
internally,--the narrow head,--the feet proportionally a little longer
than in the rock-pigeon,--and the general appearance, all show that
this bird is an undoubted Carrier; yet in one specimen the beak was of
exactly the same length as in the rock-pigeon. In the other specimen
the beak (as well as the opening of the nostrils) was only a very
little longer, viz. by .08 of an inch. Although there was a
considerable space of bare and slightly carunculated skin round the
eyes, that over the nostrils was only in a slight degree rugose. Sir W.
Elliot informs me that in the living bird the eye seems remarkably
large and prominent, and the same fact is noticed in the Persian
treatise; but the bony orbit is barely larger than that in the
rock-pigeon.

Amongst the several breeds sent to me from Madras by Sir W. Elliot
there is a pair of the _Kala Par_, black birds with the beak slightly
elongated, with the skin over the nostrils rather full, and with a
little naked skin round the eyes. This breed seems more closely allied
to the Carrier than to any other breed, being nearly intermediate
between the Bussorah Carrier and the rock-pigeon.

The names applied in different parts of Europe and in India to the
several kinds of Carriers all point to Persia or the surrounding
countries as the source of this Race. And it deserves especial notice
that, even if we neglect the Kala Par as of doubtful origin, we get a
series broken by very small steps, from the rock-pigeon, through the
Bussorah, which sometimes has a beak not at all longer than that of the
rock-pigeon and with the naked skin round the eyes and over the
nostrils very slightly swollen and carunculated, through the Bagdad
sub-race and Dragons, to our improved English Carriers, which present
so marvellous a difference from the rock-pigeon or _Columba livia_.

RACE III.--RUNTS. (Scanderoons: Die Florentiner-Taube and Hinkel-Taube of Neumeister: Pigeon Bagadais, Pigeon Romain.)

_Beak long, massive; body of great size._

Inextricable confusion reigns in the classification, affinities, and
naming of Runts. Several characters which are generally pretty constant
in other pigeons, such as the length of the wings, tail, legs, and
neck, and the amount of naked skin round the eyes, are excessively
variable in Runts. When the naked skin over the nostrils and round the
eyes is considerably developed and wattled, and when the size of body
is not very great, Runts graduate in so insensible a manner into
Carriers, that the distinction is quite arbitrary. This fact is
likewise shown by the names given to them in different parts of Europe.
Nevertheless, taking the most distinct forms, at least five sub-races
(some of them including well-marked varieties) can be distinguished,
which differ in such important points of structure, that they would be
considered as good species in a state of nature.

_Sub-race I. Scanderoon of English writers_ (Die Florentiner and
Hinkel-Taube of Neumeister).--Birds of this sub-race, of which I kept
one alive {143} and have since seen two others, differ from the
Bagadotten of Neumeister only in not haying the beak nearly so much
curved downwards, and in the naked skin round the eyes and over the
nostrils being hardly at all wattled. Nevertheless I have felt myself
compelled to place the Bagadotten in Race II., or that of the Carriers,
and the present bird in Race III., or that of the Runts. The Scanderoon
has a very short, narrow, and elevated tail; wings extremely short, so
that the first primary feathers were not longer than those of a small
tumbler pigeon! Neck long, much bowed; breast-bone prominent. Beak
long, being 1.15 inch from tip to feathered base; vertically thick;
slightly curved downwards. The skin over the nostrils swollen, not
wattled; naked skin round the eyes, broad, slightly carunculated. Legs
long; feet very large. Skin of neck bright red, often showing a naked
medial line, with a naked red patch at the distant end of the radius of
the wing. My bird, as measured from the base of the beak to the root of
the tail, was fully 2 inches longer than the rock-pigeon; yet the tail
itself was only 4 inches in length, whereas in the rock-pigeon, which
is a much smaller bird, the tail is 4-5/8 inches in length.

The Hinkel or Florentiner-Taube of Neumeister (Table XIII., fig. 1)
agrees with the above description in all the specified characters (for
the beak is not mentioned), except that Neumeister expressly says that
the neck is short, whereas in my Scanderoon it was remarkably long and
bowed; so that the Hinkel forms a well-marked variety.

_Sub-race II. Pigeon Cygne and Pigeon Bagadais of Boitard and Corbie_
(Scanderoon of French writers).--I kept two of these birds alive,
imported from France. They differed from the first sub-race or true
Scanderoon in the much greater length of the wing and tail, in the beak
not being so long, and in the skin about the head being more
carunculated. The skin of the neck is red; but the naked patches on the
wings are absent. One of my birds measured 381/2 inches from tip to tip
of wing. By taking the length of the body as the standard of
comparison, the two wings were no loss than 5 inches longer than those
of the rock-pigeon! The tail was 61/4 inches in length, and therefore 21/4
inches longer than that of the Scanderoon,--a bird of nearly the same
size. The beak is longer, thicker, and broader than in the rock-pigeon,
proportionally with the size of body. The eyelids, nostrils, and
internal gape of mouth are all proportionally very large, as in
Carriers. The foot, from the end of the middle to end of hind toe, was
actually 2.85 inches in length, which is an excess of .32 of an inch
over the foot of the rock-pigeon, relatively to the size of the two
birds.

_Sub-race III. Spanish and Roman Runts_.--I am not sure that I am right
in placing these Runts in a distinct sub-race; yet, if we take
well-characterized birds, there can be no doubt of the propriety of the
separation. They are heavy, massive birds, with shorter necks, legs,
and beaks than in the foregoing races. The skin over the nostrils is
swollen, but not carunculated; the naked skin round the eyes is not
very wide, and only slightly carunculated; 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, {144} and agrees pretty closely with the last
sub-race; the other, with shorter wings and tail, is apparently the
_Pigeon Romain ordinaire_ of Boitard and Corbie. These Runts are apt to
tremble like Fantails. They are bad flyers. A few years ago Mr.
Gulliver[285] exhibited a Runt which weighed 1 lb. 14 oz.; and, as I am
informed by Mr. Tegetmeier, two Runts from the south of France were
lately exhibited at the Crystal Palace, each of which weighed 2 lbs. 21/2
oz. A very fine rock-pigeon from the Shetland Islands weighed only 141/2
oz.

_Sub-race IV. Tronfo of Aldrovandi_ (Leghorn Runt?).--In Aldrovandi's
work published in 1600 there is a coarse woodcut of a great Italian
pigeon, with an elevated tail, short legs, massive body, and with the
beak short and thick. I had imagined that this latter character, so
abnormal in the group, was merely a false representation from bad
drawing; but Moore, in his work published in 1735, says that he
possessed a Leghorn Runt of which "the beak was very short for so large
a bird." In other respects Moore's bird resembled the first sub-race or
Scanderoon, for it had a long bowed neck, long legs, short beak, and
elevated tail, and not much wattle about the head. So that Aldrovandi's
and Moore's birds must have formed distinct varieties, both of which
seem to be now extinct in Europe. Sir W. Elliot, however, informs me
that he has seen in Madras a short-beaked Runt imported from Cairo.

_Sub-race V. Murassa (adorned Pigeon) of Madras._--Skins of these
handsome chequered birds were sent me from Madras by Sir W. Elliot.
They are rather larger than the largest rock-pigeon, with longer and
more massive beaks. The skin over the nostrils is rather full and very
slightly carunculated, and they have some naked skin round the eyes:
feet large. This breed is intermediate between the rock-pigeon and a
very poor variety of Runt or Carrier.

From these several descriptions we see that with Runts, as with
Carriers, we have a fine gradation from the rock-pigeon (with the
Tronfo diverging as a distinct branch) to our largest and most massive
Runts. But the chain of affinities, and many points of resemblance,
between Runts and Carriers, make me believe that these two races have
not descended by independent lines from the rock-pigeon, but from some
common parent, as represented in the Table, which had already acquired
a moderately long beak, with slightly swollen skin over the nostrils,
and with some slightly carunculated naked skin round the eyes.

RACE IV.--BARBS. (Indische-Taube: Pigeons Polonais.)

_Beak short, broad, deep; naked skin round the eyes, broad and carunculated; skin over nostrils slightly swollen._

Misled by the extraordinary shortness and form of the beak, I did not
at first perceive the near affinity of this Race to that of Carriers
until the fact was pointed out to me by Mr. Brent. Subsequently, after
examining {145} the Bussorah Carrier, I saw that no very great amount
of modification would be requisite to convert it into a Barb. This view
of the affinity of Barbs to Carriers is supported by the analogical
difference between the short and long-beaked Runts; and still more
strongly by the fact, that young Barbs and Dragons, within 24 hours
after being hatched, resemble each other much more closely than do
young pigeons of other and equally distinct breeds. At this early age,
the length of beak, the swollen skin over the rather open nostrils, the
gape of the mouth, and the size of the feet, are the same in both;
although these parts afterwards become widely different. We thus see
that embryology (as the comparison of very young animals {146} may
perhaps be called) comes into play in the classification of domestic
varieties, as with species in a state of nature.

Fanciers, with some truth, compare the head and beak of the Barb to
that of a bullfinch. The Barb, if found in a state of nature, would
certainly have been placed in a new genus formed for its reception. The
body is a little larger than that of the rock-pigeon, but the beak is
more than .2 of an inch shorter; although shorter, it is both
vertically and horizontally thicker. From the outward flexure of the
rami of the lower jaw, the mouth internally is very broad, in the
proportion of .6 to .4 to that of the rock-pigeon. The whole head is
broad. The skin over the nostrils is swollen, but not carunculated,
except slightly in first-rate birds when old; whilst the naked skin
round the eye is broad and much carunculated. It is sometimes so much
developed, that a bird belonging to Mr. Harrison Weir could hardly see
to pick up food from the ground. The eyelids in one specimen were
nearly twice as long as those of the rock-pigeon. The feet are coarse
and strong, but proportionally rather shorter than in the rock-pigeon.
The plumage is generally dark and uniform. Barbs, in short, may be
called short-beaked Carriers, bearing the same relation to Carriers
that the Tronfo of Aldrovandi does to the common Runt.

GROUP III.

This group is artificial, and includes a heterogeneous collection of distinct forms. It may be defined by the beak, in well-characterised specimens of the several races, being shorter than in the rock-pigeon, and by the skin round the eyes not being much developed.

RACE V.--FANTAILS.

_Sub-race I. European Fantails_ (Pfauen-Taube; Trembleurs). _Tail expanded, directed upwards, formed of many feathers; oil-gland aborted; body and beak rather short_.

The normal number of tail-feathers in the genus Columba is 12; but
Fantails have from only 12 (as has been asserted) up to, according to
MM. Boitard and Corbie, 42. I have counted in one of my own birds 33,
and at Calcutta Mr. Blyth[286] has counted in an _imperfect_ tail 34
feathers. In Madras, as I am informed by Sir W. Elliot, 32 is the
standard number; but in England number is much less valued than the
position and expansion of the tail. The feathers are arranged in an
irregular double row; their permanent expansion, like a fan, and their
upward direction, are more remarkable characters than their increased
number. The tail is capable of the same movements as in other pigeons,
and can be depressed so as to sweep the ground. It arises from a more
expanded basis than in {147} other pigeons; and in three skeletons
there were one or two extra coccygeal vertebrae. I have examined many
specimens of various colours from different countries, and there was no
trace of the oil-gland; this is a curious case of abortion.[287] The
neck is thin and bowed {148} backwards. The breast is broad and
protuberant. The feet are small. The carriage of the bird is very
different from that of other pigeons; in good birds the head touches
the tail-feathers, which consequently often become crumpled. They
habitually tremble much; and their necks have an extraordinary,
apparently convulsive, backward and forward movement. Good birds walk
in a singular manner, as if their small feet were stiff. Owing to their
large tails, they fly badly on a windy day. The dark-coloured varieties
are generally larger than white Fantails.

Although between the best and common Fantails, now existing in England,
there is a vast difference in the position and size of the tail, in the
carriage of the head and neck, in the convulsive movements of the neck,
in the manner of walking, and in the breadth of the breast, the
differences so graduate away, that it is impossible to make more than
one sub-race. Moore, however, an excellent old authority,[288] says,
that in 1735 there were two sorts of broad-tailed shakers (_i.e._
fantails), "one having a neck much longer and more slender than the
other;" and I am informed by Mr. B. P. Brent that there is an existing
German Fantail with a thicker and shorter beak.

_Sub-race II. Java Fantail._--Mr. Swinhoe sent me from Amoy, in China,
the skin of a Fantail belonging to a breed known to have been imported
from Java. It was coloured in a peculiar manner, unlike any European
Fantail, and, for a Fantail, had a remarkably short beak. Although a
good bird of the kind, it had only 14 tail-feathers; but Mr. Swinhoe
has counted in other birds of this breed from 18 to 24 tail-feathers.
From a rough sketch sent to me, it is evident that the tail is not so
much expanded or so much upraised as in even second-rate European
Fantails. The bird shakes its neck like our Fantails. It had a
well-developed oil-gland. Fantails were known in India, as we shall
hereafter see, before the year 1600; and we may suspect that in the
Java Fantail we see the breed in its earlier and less improved
condition.

RACE VI.--TURBIT AND OWL. (Moeven-Taube: Pigeons a cravate.)

_Feathers divergent along the front of the neck and breast; beak very short, vertically rather thick; oesophagus somewhat enlarged._

Turbits and Owls differ from each other slightly in the shape of the
head, in the former having a crest, and in the curvature of the beak,
but they may be here conveniently grouped together. These pretty birds,
some of which are very small, can be recognised at once by the feathers
irregularly diverging, like a frill, along the front of the neck, in
the same manner, but in a less degree, as along the back of the neck in
the Jacobin. This bird has the remarkable habit of continually, and
momentarily inflating the upper part of the oesophagus, which causes a
movement in the frill. {149} When the oesophagus of a dead bird was
inflated, it was seen to be larger than in other breeds, and not so
distinctly separated from the crop. The Pouter inflates both its true
crop and oesophagus; the Turbit inflates in a much less degree the
oesophagus alone. The beak of the Turbit is very short, being .28 of an
inch shorter than that of the rock-pigeon, proportionally with the size
of their bodies; and in some owls brought by Mr. E. Vernon Harcourt
from Tunis, it was even shorter. The beak is vertically thicker, and
perhaps a little broader, in proportion to that of the rock-pigeon.

{150}

RACE VII.--TUMBLERS. (Tuemmler, or Burzel-Tauben: Culbutants.)

_During flight, tumble backwards; body generally small; beak generally short, sometimes excessively short and conical._

This Race may be divided into four sub-races, namely, Persian, Lotan,
Common, and Short-faced Tumblers. These sub-races include many
varieties which breed true. I have examined eight skeletons of various
kinds of Tumblers: excepting in one imperfect and doubtful specimen,
the ribs are only seven in number, whereas the rock-pigeon has eight
ribs.

_Sub-race I. Persian Tumblers._--I have received a pair direct from
Persia, from the Hon. C. Murray. They were rather smaller birds than
the wild rock-pigeon, being about the size of the common
dovecot-pigeon, white and mottled, slightly feathered on the feet, with
the beak just perceptibly shorter than in the rock-pigeon. H.M. Consul,
Mr. Keith Abbott, informs me that the difference in the length of beak
is so slight, that only practised Persian fanciers can distinguish
these Tumblers from the common pigeon of the country. He informs me
that they fly in flocks high up in the air and tumble well. Some of
them occasionally appear to become giddy and tumble to the ground, in
which respect they resemble some of our Tumblers.

_Sub-race II. Lotan, or Lowtun: Indian Ground Tumblers._--These birds
present one of the most remarkable inherited habits or instincts which
have ever been recorded. The specimens sent to me from Madras by Sir W.
Elliot are white, slightly feathered on the feet, with the feathers on
the head reversed; and they are rather smaller than the rock or dovecot
pigeon. The beak is proportionally only slightly shorter and rather
thinner than in the rock-pigeon. These birds when gently shaken and
placed on the ground immediately begin tumbling head over heels, and
they continue thus to tumble until taken up and soothed,--the ceremony
being generally to blow in their faces, as in recovering a person from
a state of hypnotism or mesmerism. It is asserted that they will
continue to roll over till they die, if not taken up. There is abundant
evidence with respect to these remarkable peculiarities; but what makes
the case the more worthy of attention is, that the habit has been
strictly inherited since before the year 1600, for the breed is
distinctly described in the 'Ayeen Akbery.'[289] Mr. Evans kept a pair
in London, imported by Captain Vigne; and he assures me that he has
seen them tumble in the air, as well as in the manner above described
on the ground. Sir W. Elliot, however, writes to me from Madras, that
he is informed that they tumble exclusively on the ground, or at a very
small height above it. He also {151} mentions another sub-variety,
called the Kalmi Lotan, which begins to roll over if only touched on
the neck with a rod or wand.

_Sub-race III. Common English Tumblers._--These birds have exactly the
same habits as the Persian Tumbler, but tumble better. The English bird
is rather smaller than the Persian, and the beak is plainly shorter.
Compared with the rock-pigeon, and proportionally with the size of
body, the beak is from .16 to nearly .2 of an inch shorter, but it is
not thinner. There are several varieties of the common Tumbler, namely,
Baldheads, Beards, and Dutch Rollers. I have kept the latter alive;
they have differently shaped heads, longer necks, and are
feather-footed. They tumble to an extraordinary degree; as Mr. Brent
remarks,[290] "Every few seconds over they go; one, two, or three
summersaults at a time. Here and there a bird gives a very quick and
rapid spin, revolving like a wheel, though they sometimes lose their
balance, and make a rather ungraceful fall, in which they occasionally
hurt themselves by striking some object." From Madras I have received
several specimens of the common Tumbler of India, differing slightly
from each other in the length of their beaks. Mr. Brent sent me a dead
specimen of a "House-tumbler,"[291] which is a Scotch variety, not
differing in general appearance and form of beak from the common
Tumbler. Mr. Brent states that these birds generally begin to tumble
"almost as soon as they can well fly; at three months old they tumble
well, but still fly strong; at five or six months they tumble
excessively; and in the second year they mostly give up flying, on
account of their tumbling so much and so close to the ground. Some fly
round with the flock, throwing a clean summersault every few yards,
till they are obliged to settle from giddiness and exhaustion. These
are called Air Tumblers, and they commonly throw from twenty to thirty
summersaults in a minute, each clear and clean. I have one red cock
that I have on two or three occasions timed by my watch, and counted
forty summersaults in the minute. Others tumble differently. At first
they throw a single summersault, then it is double, till it becomes a
continuous roll, which puts an end to flying, for if they fly a few
yards over they go, and roll till they reach the ground. Thus I had one
kill herself, and another broke his leg. Many of them turn over only a
few inches from the ground, and will tumble two or three times in
flying across their loft. These are called House-tumblers, from
tumbling in the house. The act of tumbling seems to be one over which
they have no control, an involuntary movement which they seem to try to
prevent. I have seen a bird sometimes in his struggles fly a yard or
two straight upwards, the impulse forcing him backwards while he
struggles to go forwards. If suddenly startled, or in a strange place,
they seem less able to fly than if quiet in their accustomed loft."
These House-tumblers differ from the Lotan or Ground {152} Tumbler of
India, in not requiring to be shaken in order to begin tumbling. The
breed has probably been formed merely by selecting the best common
Tumblers, though it is possible that they may have been crossed at some
former period with Lotans.

_Sub-race IV. Short-faced Tumblers._--These are marvellous birds, and
are the glory and pride of many fanciers. In their extremely short,
sharp, and conical beaks, with the skin over the nostrils but little
developed, they almost depart from the type of the Columbidae. Their
heads are nearly globular {153} and upright in front, so that some
fanciers say[292] "the head should resemble a cherry with a barley-corn
stuck in it." These are the smallest kind of pigeons. Mr. Esquilant
possessed a blue Baldhead, two years old, which when alive weighed,
before feeding-time, only 6 oz. 5 drs.; two others, each weighed 7 oz.
We have seen that a wild rock-pigeon weighed 14 oz. 2 drs., and a Runt
34 oz. 4 drs. Short-faced Tumblers have a remarkably erect carriage,
with prominent breasts, drooping wings, and very small feet. The length
of the beak from the tip to the feathered base was in one good bird
only .4 of an inch; in a wild rock-pigeon it was exactly double this
length. As these Tumblers have shorter bodies than the wild
rock-pigeon, they ought of course to have shorter beaks; but
proportionally with the size of body, the beak is .28 of an inch too
short. So, again, the feet of this bird were actually .45 shorter, and
proportionally .21 of an inch shorter, than the feet of the
rock-pigeon. The middle toe has only twelve or thirteen, instead of
fourteen or fifteen scutellae. The primary wing-feathers are not rarely
only nine instead of ten in number. The improved short-faced Tumblers
have almost lost the power of tumbling; but there are several authentic
accounts of their occasionally tumbling. There are several
sub-varieties, such as Baldheads, Beards, Mottles, and Almonds; the
latter are remarkable from not acquiring their perfectly-coloured
plumage until they have moulted three or four times. There is good
reason to believe that most of these sub-varieties, some of which breed
truly, have arisen since the publication of Moore's treatise in
1735.[293]

Finally, in regard to the whole group of Tumblers, it is impossible to
conceive a more perfect gradation than I have now lying before me, from
the rock-pigeon, through Persian, Lotan, and Common Tumblers, up to the
marvellous short-faced birds; which latter, no ornithologist, judging
from mere external structure, would place in the same genus with the
rock-pigeon. The differences between the successive steps in this
series are not greater than those which may be observed between common
dovecot-pigeons (_C. livia_) brought from different countries.

RACE VIII--INDIAN FRILL-BACK.

_Beak very short; feathers reversed._

A specimen of this bird, in spirits, was sent to me from Madras by Sir
W. Elliot. It is wholly different from the Frill-back often exhibited
in England. It is a smallish bird, about the size of the common
Tumbler, but has a beak in all its proportions like our short-faced
Tumblers. The beak, measured from the tip to the feathered base, was
only .46 of an inch in length. The feathers over the whole body are
reversed or curl backwards. Had this bird occurred in Europe, I should
have thought it only a monstrous variety of our improved Tumbler; but
as short-faced Tumblers are not known in India, I think it must rank as
a distinct breed. Probably {154} this is the breed seen by Hasselquist
in 1757 at Cairo, and said to have been imported from India.

RACE IX.--JACOBIN. (Zopf or Peruecken-Taube: Nonnains.)

_Feathers of the neck forming a hood; wings and tail long; beak moderately short._

This pigeon can at once be recognised by its hood, almost enclosing the
head and meeting in front of the neck. The hood seems to be merely an
exaggeration of the crest of reversed feathers on the back of the head,
which is common to many sub-varieties, and which in the Latz-taube[294]
is in a nearly intermediate state between a hood and a crest. The
feathers of the hood are elongated. Both the wings and tail are
likewise much elongated; thus the folded wing of the Jacobin, though a
somewhat smaller bird, is fully 11/4 inch longer than in the rock-pigeon.
Taking the length of the body without the tail as the standard of
comparison, the folded wing, proportionally with the wings of the
rock-pigeon, is 21/4 inches too long, and the two wings, from tip to tip,
51/4 inches too long. In disposition this bird is singularly quiet,
seldom flying or moving about, as Bechstein and Riedel have likewise
remarked in Germany.[295] The latter author also notices the length of
the wings and tail. The beak is nearly .2 of an inch shorter in
proportion to the size of the body than in the rock-pigeon; but the
internal gape of the mouth is considerably wider.

GROUP IV.

The birds of this group may be characterised by their resemblance in all important points of structure, especially in the beak, to the rock-pigeon. The Trumpeter forms the only well-marked race. Of the numerous other sub-races and varieties I shall specify only a few of the most distinct, which I have myself seen and kept alive.

RACE X.--TRUMPETER. (Trommel-Taube; Pigeon tambour; glougou.)

_A tuft of feathers at the base of the beak curling forward; feet much feathered; voice very peculiar; size exceeding that of the rock-pigeon._

This is a well-marked breed, with a peculiar voice, wholly unlike that
of any other pigeon. The coo is rapidly repeated, and is continued for
{155} several minutes; hence their name of Trumpeters. They are also
characterised by a tuft of elongated feathers, which curls forward over
the base of the beak, and which is possessed by no other breed. Their
feet are so heavily feathered, that they almost appear like little
wings. They are larger birds than the rock-pigeon, but their beak is of
very nearly the same proportional size. Their feet are rather small.
This breed was perfectly characterised in Moore's time, in 1735. Mr.
Brent says that two varieties exist, which differ in size.

RACE XI.--_Scarcely differing in structure from the wild Columba livia._

_Sub-race 1. Laughers. Size less than the Rock-pigeon; voice very
peculiar._--As this bird agrees in nearly all its proportions with the
rock-pigeon, though of smaller size, I should not have thought it
worthy of mention, had it not been for its peculiar voice--a character
supposed seldom to vary with birds. Although the voice of the Laugher
is very different from that of the Trumpeter, yet one of my Trumpeters
used to utter a single note like that of the Laugher. I have kept two
varieties of Laughers, which differed only in one variety being
turn-crowned; the smooth-headed kind, for which I am indebted to the
kindness of Mr. Brent, besides its peculiar note, used to coo in a
singular and pleasing manner, which, independently, struck both Mr.
Brent and myself as resembling that of the turtle-dove. Both varieties
come from Arabia. This breed was known by Moore in 1735. A pigeon which
seems to say Yak-roo is mentioned in 1600 in the 'Ayeen Akbery,' and is
probably the same breed. Sir W. Elliot has also sent me from Madras a
pigeon called Yahui, said to have come from Mecca, which does not
differ in appearance from the Laugher; it has "a deep melancholy voice,
like Yahu, often repeated." Yahu, yahu, means Oh God, Oh God; and
Sayzid Mohammed Musari, in the treatise written about 100 years ago,
says that these birds "are not flown, because they repeat the name of
the Most High God." Mr. Keith Abbott, however, informs me that the
common pigeon is called Yahoo in Persia.

_Sub-race II. Common Frill-back_ (Die Strupp-Taube). _Beak rather
longer than in the Rock-pigeon; feathers reversed._--This is a
considerably larger bird than the rock-pigeons and with the beak,
proportionally with the size of body, a little (viz. by .04 of an inch)
longer. The feathers, especially on the wing-coverts, have their points
curled upwards or backwards.

_Sub-race III. Nuns_ (Pigeons-coquilles).--These elegant birds are
smaller than the rock-pigeon. The beak is actually .17, and
proportionally with the size of the body .1 of an inch shorter than in
the rock-pigeons, although of the same thickness. In young birds the
scutellae on the tarsi and toes are generally of a leaden-black colour;
and this is a remarkable character (though observed in a lesser degree
in some other breeds), as the colour of the legs in the adult state is
subject to very little variation in any breed. I have on two or three
occasions counted thirteen or fourteen feathers in the tail; this
likewise occurs in the barely distinct breed called Helmets. {156} Nuns
are symmetrically coloured, with the head, primary wing-feathers, tail,
and tail-coverts of the same colour, namely, black or red, and with the
rest of the body white. This breed has retained the same character
since Aldrovandi wrote in 1600. I have received from Madras almost
similarly coloured birds.

_Sub-race IV. Spots_ (Die Blass-Taube: Pigeons heurtes).--These birds
are a very little larger than the rock-pigeon, with the beak a trace
smaller in all its dimensions, and with the feet decidedly smaller.
They are symmetrically coloured, with a spot on the forehead, with the
tail and tail-coverts of the same colour, the rest of the body being
white. This breed existed in 1676;[296] and in 1735 Moore remarks that
they breed truly, as is the case at the present day.

_Sub-race V. Swallows._--These birds, as measured from tip to tip of
wing, or from the end of the beak to the end of the tail, exceed in
size the rock-pigeon; but their bodies are much less bulky; their feet
and legs are likewise smaller. The beak is of about the same length,
but rather slighter. Altogether their general appearance is
considerably different from that of the rock-pigeon. Their heads and
wings are of the same colour, the rest of the body being white. Their
flight is said to be peculiar. This seems to be a modern breed, which,
however, originated before the year 1795 in Germany, for it is
described by Bechstein.

* * * * *