Chapter 1.v.

DOMESTIC PIGEONS.

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 OF STERNUM, SCAPULA, AND FURCULUM. 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 are 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, and especially 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 doubt that this minuteness is worth while. 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 world. (5/1. The Hon. C. Murray has sent me some very valuable specimens from Persia; and H.M. Consul, Mr. Keith Abbott, has given me information on the pigeons of the same country. I am deeply indebted to Sir Walter Elliot for an immense collection of skins from Madras, with much information regarding them. Mr. Blyth has freely communicated to me his stores of knowledge on this and all other related subjects. The Rajah Sir James Brooke sent me specimens from Borneo, as has H.M. Consul, Mr. Swinhoe, from Amoy in China, and Dr. Daniell from the west coast of Africa.) Since my admission into two of the London pigeon-clubs, I have received the kindest assistance from many of the most eminent amateurs. (5/2. Mr. B.P. Brent, well known for his various contributions to poultry literature, has aided me in every way during several years: so has Mr. Tegetmeier, with unwearied kindness. This latter gentleman, who is well known for his works on poultry, and who has largely bred pigeons, has looked over this and the following chapters. Mr. Bult formerly showed me his unrivalled collection of Pouters, and gave me specimens. I had access to Mr. Wicking's collection, which contained a greater assortment of kinds than could anywhere else be seen; and he has always aided me with specimens and information given in the freest manner. Mr. Haynes and Mr. Corker have given me specimens of their magnificent Carriers. To Mr. Harrison Weir I am likewise indebted. Nor must I by any means pass over the assistance received from Mr. J.M. Eaton, Mr. Baker, Mr. Evans, and Mr. J. Baily, jun., of Mount-street--to the latter gentleman I have been indebted for some valuable specimens. To all these gentlemen I beg permission to return my sincere and cordial thanks.)

The races of the Pigeon which can be distinguished, and which breed true, are very numerous. MM. Boitard and Corbie (5/3. 'Les Pigeons de Voliere et de Colombier' Paris 1824. During forty-five years the sole occupation of M. Corbie was the care of the pigeons belonging to the Duchess of Berry. Bonizzi has described a large number of coloured varieties in Italy: 'Le variazioni dei colombi Domestici' Padova 1873.) 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, etc.), I do not hesitate to 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 (5/4. 'Coup d'Oeil sur l'Ordre des Pigeons' par Prince C.L. Bonaparte, Paris 1855. This author makes 288 species, ranked under 85 genera.) 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-characterised 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 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 the number of forms which a group may contain.

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.

(5/5. As I so often refer to the size of the C. livia, or rock-pigeon, it may be convenient to give the mean between the measurements of two wild birds, kindly sent me by Dr. Edmondstone from the Shetland Islands.

LENGTH IN INCHES:

From feathered base of beak to end of tail: 14.25 From feathered base of beak to oil-gland: 9.5 From tip of beak to end of tail: 15.02 Of tail-feathers: 4.62 From tip to tip of wing: 26.75 Of folded wing: 9.25 Beak.--Length from tip of beak to feathered base: .77 Beak.--Thickness, measured vertically at distal end of nostrils: .23 Beak.--Breadth, measured at same place: .16 Feet.--From end of middle toe (without claw) to distal end of tibia: 2.77 Feet.--From end of middle toe to end of hind toe (without claws): 2.02

WEIGHT: 14 1/4 ounces.)

(FIGURE 17. THE ROCK PIGEON, or Columba livia. The parent-form of all domesticated Pigeons. (5/6. This drawing was made from a dead bird. The six following figures were drawn with great care by Mr. Luke Wells from living birds selected by Mr. Tegetmeier. It may be confidently asserted that the characters of the six breeds which have been figured are not in the least exaggerated.))

DIAGRAM 1. DOMESTIC PIGEONS.

Columba livia or ROCK-PIGEON--

--GROUP I.--(SUB-GROUP (RACE) 1.)--German P. --Lille P.-- --Dutch P. --ENGLISH POUTER.

--GROUP II.--(SUB-GROUPS (RACES) 2, 3, 4.)--Kali-Par--Bussora-- --Murassa. --Dragon--ENGLISH CARRIER. --Bagadotten--Scanderoon--Pigeon Cygne--RUNT. --TRONFO. --BARB.

--GROUP III.--(SUB-GROUPS (RACES) 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.)-- --Java Fantail--FANTAIL --Turbit--AFRICAN OWL. --Persian Tumbler--Lotan Tumbler--Common Tumbler--SHORT-FACED TUMBLER. --INDIAN FRILL-BACK. --JACOBIN.

--GROUP IV.--(SUB-GROUPS (RACES) 10, 11.)-- --TRUMPETER. --LAUGHER. --ENGLISH FRILL-BACK. --NUN. --SPOT. --SWALLOW. --DOVECOTE PIGEON.

I will now give a brief description of all the principal breeds. Diagram 1. 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 page 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 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.

(FIGURE 18. ENGLISH POUTER.)

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. (KROPFTAUBEN, 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.

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 constriction 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. After one of my birds had swallowed a good meal of peas and water, as he flew up in order to disgorge them and feed his nearly fledged young, I 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 .O3 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 34 1/2 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 28 1/4 and 14 3/4. There are many sub-varieties of the Pouter of different colours, but these I pass over.

SUB-RACE 1/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 (5/7. 'Das Ganze der Taubenzucht' Weimar 1837 pl. 11 and 12.) says that the wings are crossed over the tail, and do not reach to its extremity.

SUB-RACE 1/III. THE LILLE POUTER.

I know this breed only from description. (5/8. Boitard and Corbie 'Les Pigeons' etc. page 177 pl. 6.) 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 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 1/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 always be 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.]

(FIGURE 19. ENGLISH CARRIER.)

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 figures 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. (TURKISCHE TAUBEN; PIGEONS TURCS, DRAGONS.)

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

SUB-RACE 2/II. DRAGONS; PERSIAN CARRIERS.

SUB-RACE 2/III. BAGADOTTEN-TAUBEN OF NEUMEISTER (PAVDOTTEN- OR HOCKER- TAUBEN).

SUB-RACE 2/IV. BUSSORAH CARRIER.

Amongst the several breeds sent to me from Madras by Sir W. Elliot there is a pair of the Kali 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 Kali 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 TAUBEN AND HINKELTAUBEN OF NEUMEISTER; PIGEON BAGADAIS, PIGEON ROMAIN.)

Beak long, massive; body of great size.

SUB-RACE 3/I. SCANDEROON OF ENGLISH WRITERS (DIE FLORENTINER AND HINKELTAUBEN OF NEUMEISTER).

The Hinkel- or Florentiner Taube of Neumeister (Table 13 figure 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 3/II. PIGEON CYGNE AND PIGEON BAGADAIS OF BOITARD AND CORBIE (SCANDEROON OF FRENCH WRITERS).

SUB-RACE 3/III. SPANISH AND ROMAN RUNTS.

SUB-RACE 3/IV. TRONFO OF ALDROVANDI (LEGHORN RUNT?).

SUB-RACE 3/V. MURASSA (ADORNED PIGEON) OF MADRAS.

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.]

(FIGURE 20. ENGLISH BARB.)

RACE IV. BARBS. (INDISCHE TAUBEN; PIGEONS POLONAIS.)

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

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 nostril 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.

(FIGURE 21. ENGLISH FANTAIL.)

RACE V.-FANTAILS.

SUB-RACE 5/I. EUROPEAN FANTAILS (PFAUENTAUBEN; TREMBLEURS).

Tail expanded, directed upwards, formed of many feathers; oil-gland aborted; body and beak rather short.

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 (5/14. See the two excellent editions published by Mr. J.M. Eaton in 1852 and 1858 entitled 'A Treatise on Fancy Pigeons.') 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 5/II. JAVA FANTAIL.

(FIGURE 22. AFRICAN OWL.)

RACE VI. TURBIT AND OWL. (MOVENTAUBEN; 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; the former have a crest, and the beak is differently curved; 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. They have the remarkable habit of continually and momentarily inflating the upper part of the oesophagus, which causes a movement in the frill. When the oesophagus of a dead bird is inflated, it is 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.

RACE VII. TUMBLERS. (TUMMLER, OR BURZELTAUBEN; 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 7/I. PERSIAN TUMBLERS.

I received a pair direct from Persia, from the Hon. C. Murray. They are rather smaller birds than the wild rock-pigeon, about the size of the common dovecote 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 7/II. LOTAN, OR LOWTUN: INDIAN GROUND TUMBLERS.

These birds present one of the most remarkable inherited habits or instincts ever 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 dovecote 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 inherited since before the year 1600, for the breed is distinctly described in the 'Ayeen Akbery.' (5/15. English translation by F. Gladwin 4th edition volume 1. The habit of the Lotan is also described in the Persian treatise before alluded to, published about 100 years ago: at this date the Lotans were generally white and crested as at present. Mr. Blyth describes these birds in 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.' volume 14 1847 page 104; he says that they "may be seen at any of the Calcutta bird-dealers.") 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 mentions birds of another sub-variety, called the Kalmi Lotan, which begin to roll over if only touched on the neck with a rod or wand.

SUB-RACE 7/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 .15 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 (5/16. 'Journal of Horticulture' October 22, 1861 page 76.), "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" (5/17. See the account of the House- tumblers kept at Glasgow, in the 'Cottage Gardener' 1858 page 285. Also Mr. Brent's paper 'Journal of Horticulture' 1861 page 76.), 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 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.

(FIGURE 23. SHORT-FACED ENGLISH TUMBLER.)

SUB-RACE 7/1V. 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 and upright in front, so that some fanciers say (5/18. J.M. Eaton 'Treatise on Pigeons' 1852 page 9.) "the head should resemble a cherry with a barleycorn 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 ounces 5 drs.; two others, each weighed 7 ounces. We have seen that a wild rock- pigeon weighed 14 ounces 2 drs., and a Runt 34 ounces 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 the 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 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 Bald-heads, 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. (5/19. J.M. Eaton 'Treatise' edition 1858 page 76.)

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 dovecote-pigeons (C. livia) brought from different countries.]

RACE VIII. INDIAN FRILL-BACK.

Beak very short; feathers reversed.

RACE IX. JACOBIN. (ZOPF- OR PERRFICKENTAUBE; NONNAIN.)

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

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. (TROMMELTAUBE; PIGEON TAMBOUR, GLOUGLOU.)

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.

RACE XI. SCARCELY DIFFERING IN STRUCTURE FROM THE WILD COLUMBA LIVIA.

SUB-RACE 11/I. LAUGHERS.

Size less than the Rock-pigeon; voice very peculiar.

SUB-RACE 11/II. COMMON FRILL-BACK (DIE STRUPPTAUBE).

Beak rather longer than in the rock-pigeon; feathers reversed .

SUB-RACE 11/III. NUNS (PIGEONS COQUILLES).

SUB-RACE 11/IV. SPOTS (DIE BLASSTAUBEN; PIGEONS HEURTES).

SUB-RACE 11/V. SWALLOWS.

Besides the several breeds now described, three or four other very distinct kinds existed lately, or perhaps still exist, in Germany and France. Firstly, the Karmeliten, or carme pigeon, which I have not seen; it is described as of small size, with very short legs, and with an extremely short beak. Secondly, the Finnikin, which is now extinct in England. It had, according to Moore's (5/23. J.M. Eaton's edition (1858) of Moore page 98.) treatise, published in 1735, a tuft of feathers on the hinder part of the head, which ran down its back not unlike a horse's mane. "When it is salacious it rises over the hen and turns round three or four times, flapping its wings, then reverses and turns as many times the other way." The Turner, on the other hand, when it "plays to the female, turns only one way." Whether these extraordinary statements may be trusted I know not; but the inheritance of any habit may be believed, after what we have seen with respect to the Ground-tumbler of India. MM. Boitard and Corbie describe a pigeon (5/24. Pigeon pattu plongeur. 'Les Pigeons' etc. page 165.) which has the singular habit of sailing for a considerable time through the air, without flapping its wings, like a bird of prey. The confusion is inextricable, from the time of Aldrovandi in 1600 to the present day, in the accounts published of the Draijers, Smiters, Finnikins, Turners, Claquers, etc., which are all remarkable from their manner of flight. Mr. Brent informs me that he has seen one of these breeds in Germany with its wing-feathers injured from having been so often struck together but he did not see it flying. An old stuffed specimen of a Finnikin in the British Museum presents no well-marked character. Thirdly, a singular pigeon with a forked tail is mentioned in some treatises; and as Bechstein (5/25. 'Naturgeschichte Deutschlands' b. 4 s. 47.) briefly describes and figures this bird, with a tail "having completely the structure of that of the house-swallow," it must once have existed, for Bechstein was far too good a naturalist to have confounded any distinct species with the domestic pigeon. Lastly, an extraordinary pigeon imported from Belgium has lately been exhibited at the Philoperisteron Society in London (5/26. Mr. W.B. Tegetmeier 'Journal of Horticulture' January 20, 1863 page 58.), which "conjoins the colour of an archangel with the head of an owl or barb, its most striking peculiarity being the extraordinary length of the tail and wing-feathers, the latter crossing beyond the tail, and giving to the bird the appearance of a gigantic swift (Cypselus), or long-winged hawk." Mr. Tegetmeier informs me that this bird weighed only 10 ounces, but in length was 15 1/2 inches from tip to beak to end of tail, and 32 1/2 inches from tip to tip of wing; now the wild rock-pigeon weighs 14 1/2 ounces, and measures from tip to beak to end of tail 15 inches, and from tip to tip of wing only 26 3/4 inches.]

I have now described all the domestic pigeons known to me, and have added a few others on reliable authority. I have classed them under four Groups, in order to mark their affinities and degrees of difference; but the third group is artificial. The kinds examined by me form eleven races, which include several sub-races; and even these latter present differences that would certainly have been thought of specific value if observed in a state of nature. The sub-races likewise include many strictly inherited varieties; so that altogether there must exist, as previously remarked, above 150 kinds which can be distinguished, though generally by characters of extremely slight importance. Many of the genera of the Columbidae, admitted by ornithologists, do not differ in any great degree from each other; taking this into consideration, there can be no doubt that several of the most strongly characterised domestic forms, if found wild, would have been placed in at least five new genera. Thus a new genus would have been formed for the reception of the improved English Pouter: a second genus for Carriers and Runts; and this would have been a wide or comprehensive genus, for it would have admitted common Spanish Runts without any wattle, short-beaked Runts like the Tronfo, and the improved English Carrier: a third genus would have been formed for the Barb: a fourth for the Fantail: and lastly, a fifth for the short beaked, not- wattled pigeons, such as Turbits and short-faced Tumblers. The remaining domestic forms might have been included, in the same genus with the wild rock-pigeon.

INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY; VARIATIONS OF A REMARKABLE NATURE.

The differences which we have as yet considered are characteristic of distinct breeds; but there are other differences, either confined to individual birds, or often observed in certain breeds but not characteristic of them. These individual differences are of importance, as they might in most cases be secured and accumulated by man's power of selection and thus an existing breed might be greatly modified or a new one formed. Fanciers notice and select only those slight differences which are externally visible; but the whole organisation is so tied together by correlation of growth, that a change in one part is frequently accompanied by other changes. For our purpose, modifications of all kinds are equally important, and if affecting a part which does not commonly vary, are of more importance than a modification in some conspicuous part. At the present day any visible deviation of character in a well-established breed is rejected as a blemish; but it by no means follows that at an early period, before well-marked breeds had been formed, such deviations would have been rejected; on the contrary, they would have been eagerly preserved as presenting a novelty, and would then have been slowly augmented, as we shall hereafter more clearly see, by the process of unconscious selection.

With respect to the primary wing-feathers, the number in the Columbidae, as far as I can find out, is always nine or ten. In the rock-pigeon it is ten; but I have seen no less than eight short-faced Tumblers with only nine primaries, and the occurrence of this number has been noticed by fanciers, owing to ten primaries of a white colour being one of the points in Short- faced Bald-head-Tumblers. Mr. Brent, however, had an Air-Tumbler (not short-faced) which had in both wings eleven primaries. Mr. Corker, the eminent breeder of prize Carriers, assures me that some of his birds had eleven primaries in both wings. I have seen eleven in one wing in two Pouters. I have been assured by three fanciers that they have seen twelve in Scanderoons; but as Neumeister asserts that in the allied Florence Runt the middle flight-feather is often double, the number twelve may have been caused by two of the ten primaries having each two shafts to a single feather. The secondary wing-feathers are difficult to count, but the number seems to vary from twelve to fifteen. The length of the wing and tail relatively to the body, and of the wings to the tail, certainly varies; I have especially noticed this in Jacobins. In Mr. Bult's magnificent collection of Pouters, the wings and tail varied greatly in length; and were sometimes so much elongated that the birds could hardly play upright. In the relative length of the few first primaries I have observed only a slight degree of variability. Mr. Brent informs me that he has observed the shape of the first feather to vary very slightly. But the variation in these latter points is extremely slight compared with the differences which may be observed in the natural species of the Columbidae.

In the beak I have seen very considerable differences in birds of the same breed, as in carefully bred Jacobins and Trumpeters. In Carriers there is often a conspicuous difference in the degree of attenuation and curvature of the beak. So it is indeed in many breeds: thus I had two strains of black Barbs, which evidently differed in the curvature of the upper mandible. In width of mouth I have found a great difference in two Swallows. In Fantails of first-rate merit I have seen some birds with much longer and thinner necks than in others. Other analogous facts could be given. We have seen that the oil-gland is aborted in all Fantails (with 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 the mongrels which I reared from the Fantail and Pouter had no oil-gland; in one Swallow out of many which I have examined, and in two Nuns, there was no oil-gland.

The number of the scutellae on the toes often varies in the same breed, and sometimes even differs on the two feet of the same individual; the Shetland rock-pigeon has fifteen on the middle, and six on the hinder toe; whereas I have seen a Runt with sixteen on the middle and eight on the hind toe; and a short-faced Tumbler with only twelve and five on these same toes. The rock-pigeon has no sensible amount of skin between its toes; but I possessed a Spot and a Nun with the skin extending for a space of a quarter of an inch from the fork, between the two INNER toes. On the other hand, as will hereafter be more fully shown, pigeons with feathered feet very generally have the bases of their OUTER toes connected by skin. I had a red Tumbler, which had a coo unlike that of its fellows, approaching in tone to that of the 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 the feet, and in the feathers on the back of the head being reversed. But I may mention a remarkable Tumbler (5/28. Described and figured in the 'Poultry Chronicle' volume 3 1855 page 82.) exhibited at the Crystal Palace, which had an irregular crest of feathers on its head, somewhat like the tuft on the head of the Polish fowl. Mr. Bult reared a hen Jacobin with the feathers on the thigh so long as to reach the ground, and a cock having, but in a lesser degree, the same peculiarity: from these two birds he bred others similarly characterised, which were exhibited at the Philoperisteron Soc. I bred a mongrel pigeon which had fibrous feathers, and the wing and tail-feathers so short and imperfect that the bird could not fly even a foot in height.]

There are many singular and inherited peculiarities in the plumage of pigeons: thus Almond-Tumblers do not acquire 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." (5/29. 'The Pigeon Book' by Mr. B.P. Brent 1859 page 41.) Neumeister describes a breed of a black colour with white bars on the wing and a white crescent-shaped mark on the breast; these marks are generally rusty-red before the first moult, but after the third or fourth moult they undergo a change; the wing- feathers and the crown of the head likewise then become white or grey. (5/30. 'Die staarhalsige Taube. Das Ganze, etc.' s. 21 tab. 1. figure 4.)

It is an important fact, and I believe there is hardly an exception to the rule, that the especial characters for which each breed is valued are eminently variable: thus, in the Fantail, the number and direction of the tail-feathers, the carriage of the body, and the degree of trembling are 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 the beak, and the amount of wattle; in Short-faced Tumblers, the shortness of the beak, the prominence of the forehead, and general carriage (5/31. 'A Treatise on the Almond-Tumbler' by J.M. Eaton 1852 page 8 et passim.), and in the Almond-Tumbler the colour of the plumage; in common Tumblers, the manner of tumbling; in the Barb, the breadth and shortness of the beak and the amount of eye-wattle; in Runts, the size of body; in Turbits the frill; and lastly in Trumpeters, the cooing, as well as the size of the 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 the characters of the several breeds, namely, that they are often most strongly displayed in the male bird. In Carriers, when the males and females are 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 heavily wattled. Mr. Tegetmeier informs me that, in twenty Barbs in Mr. P.H. Jones's possession, the males had generally the largest eye-wattles; Mr. Esquilant also believes in this rule, but Mr. H. Weir, a first-rate judge, entertains some doubt on the subject. Male 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. Harrison Weir, a successful breeder of prize Fantails, informs me that his male birds often have a greater number of tail-feathers than the females. Mr. Eaton asserts (5/32. 'A Treatise, etc.' page 10.) that if a cock and hen Tumbler were of equal merit, the hen would be worth double the money; and as pigeons always pair, so that an equal number of both sexes is necessary for reproduction, this seems to show that high merit is rarer in the female than in the male. In the development of the frill in Turbits, of the hood in Jacobins, of the tuft in Trumpeters, of tumbling in Tumblers, there is no difference between the males and females. I may here add a rather different case, namely, the existence in France (5/33. Boitard and Corbie 'Les Pigeons' etc. 1824 page 173.) of a wine- coloured variety of the Pouter, in which the male is generally chequered with black, whilst the female is never so chequered. Dr. Chapuis also remarks (5/34. 'Le Pigeon Voyageur Belge' 1865 page 87. I have given in my 'Descent of Man' 6th edition page 466 some curious cases, on the authority of Mr. Tegetmeier, of silver-coloured (i.e. very pale blue) birds being generally females, and of the ease with which a race thus characterised could be produced. Bonizzi (see 'Variazioni dei Columbi domestici' Padova 1873) states that certain coloured spots are often different in the two sexes, and the certain tints are commoner in females than in male pigeons.) that in certain light-coloured pigeons the males have their feathers striated with black, and these striae increase in size at each moult, so that the male ultimately becomes spotted with black. With Carriers, the wattle, both on the beak and round the eyes, and with Barbs that round the eyes, goes on increasing with age. This augmentation of character with advancing age, and more especially the difference between the males and females in the above-mentioned several respects, are remarkable facts, for there is no sensible difference at any age between the two sexes in the aboriginal rock-pigeon; and not often any strongly marked difference throughout the family of the Columbidae. (5/35. Prof. A. Newton 'Proc. Zoolog. Soc.' 1865 page 716 remarks that he knows no species which present any remarkable sexual distinction; but Mr. Wallace informs me, that in the sub-family of the Treronidae the sexes often differ considerably in colour. See also on sexual differences in the Columbidae, Gould 'Handbook to the Birds of Australia' volume 2 pages 109-149.)

OSTEOLOGICAL CHARACTERS.

In the skeletons of the various breeds there is much variability; and though certain differences occur frequently, and others rarely, in certain breeds, yet none can be said to be absolutely characteristic of any breed. Considering that strongly-marked domestic races have been formed chiefly by man's selection, we ought not to expect to find great and constant differences in the skeleton; for fanciers neither see, nor do they care for, modifications of structure in the internal framework. Nor ought we to expect changes in the skeletons from changed habits of life; as every facility is given to the most distinct breeds to follow the same habits, and the much modified races are never allowed to wander abroad and procure their own food in various ways. Moreover, I find, on comparing the skeletons of Columba livia, oenas, palumbus, and turtur, which are ranked by all systematists in two or three distinct though allied genera, that the differences are extremely slight, certainly less than between the skeletons of some of the most distinct domestic breeds. How far the skeleton of the wild rock-pigeon is constant I have had no means of judging, as I have examined only two.

(FIGURE 24. SKULLS OF PIGEONS viewed laterally, of natural size. A. Wild Rock-pigeon, Columba livia. B. Short-faced Tumbler. C. English Carrier. D. Bagadotten Carrier.)

The individual bones, especially those at the base, do not differ in shape. But the whole skull, in its proportions, outline, and relative direction of the bones, differs greatly in some of the breeds, as may be seen by comparing the figures of (A) the wild rock-pigeon, (B) the Short-faced Tumbler, (C) the English Carrier, and (D) the Bagadotten Carrier (of Neumeister), all drawn of the natural size and viewed laterally. In the Carrier, besides the elongation of the bones of the face, the space between the orbits is proportionally a little narrower than in the rock-pigeon. In the Bagadotten the upper mandible is remarkably arched, and the premaxillary bones are proportionally broader. In the Short-faced Tumbler the skull is more globular: all the bones of the face are much shortened, and the front of the skull and descending nasal bones are almost perpendicular: the maxillo-jugal arch and premaxillary bones form an almost straight line; the space between the prominent edges of the eye-orbits is depressed. In the Barb the premaxillary bones are much shortened, and their anterior portion is thicker than in the rock-pigeon, as is the lower part of the nasal bone. In two Nuns the ascending branches of the premaxillaries, near their tips, were somewhat attenuated, and in these birds, as well as in some others, for instance in the Spot, the occipital crest over the foramen was considerably more prominent than in the rock- pigeon.

(FIGURE 25. LOWER JAWS, seen from above, of natural size. A. Rock-pigeon. B. Runt. C. Barb.

FIGURE 26. SKULL OF RUNT, seen from above, of natural size, showing the reflexed margin of the distal portion of the lower jaw.

FIGURE 27. LATERAL VIEW OF JAWS, of natural size. A. Rock-pigeon. B. Shortfaced Tumbler. C. Bagadotten Carrier.)

In the lower jaw, the articular surface is proportionably smaller in many breeds than in the rock-pigeon; and the vertical diameter, more especially of the outer part of the articular surface, is considerably shorter. May not this be accounted for by the lessened use of the jaws, owing to nutritious food having been given during a long period to all highly improved pigeons? In Runts, Carriers, and Barbs (and in a lesser degree in several breeds), the whole side of the jaw near the articular end is bent inwards in a highly remarkable manner; and the superior margin of the ramus, beyond the middle, is reflexed in an equally remarkable manner, as may be seen in figure 25, in comparison with the jaw of the rock-pigeon. This reflection of the upper margin of the lower jaw is plainly connected with the singularly wide gape of the mouth, as has been described in Runts, Carriers, and Barbs. The reflection is well shown in figure 26 of the head of a Runt seen from above; here a wide open space may be observed on each side, between the edges of the lower jaw and of the premaxillary bones. In the rock-pigeon, and in several domestic breeds, the edges of the lower jaw on each side come close up to the premaxillary bones, so that no open space is left. The degree of downward curvature of the distal half of the lower jaw also differs to an extraordinary degree in some breeds, as may be seen in the drawings (figure 27 A) of the rock-pigeon, (B) of the Short-faced Tumbler, and (C) of the Bagadotten Carrier of Neumeister. In some Runts the symphysis of the lower jaw is remarkably solid. No one would readily have believed that jaws differing in the several above-specified points so greatly could have belonged to the same species.

VERTEBRAE.

All the breeds have twelve cervical vertebrae. (5/36. I am not sure that I have designated the different kinds of vertebra correctly: but I observe that different anatomists follow in this respect different rules, and, as I use the same terms in the comparison of all the skeletons, this, I hope, will not signify.) But in a Bussorah Carrier from India the twelfth vertebra carried a small rib, a quarter of an inch in length, with a perfect double articulation.

The DORSAL VERTEBRAE are always eight. In the rock-pigeon all eight bear ribs; the eighth rib being very thin, and the seventh having no process. In Pouters all the ribs are extremely broad, eight bear ribs; the eighth rib being very thin and the seventh having no process. In Pouters all the ribs are extremely broad, and, in three out of four skeletons examined by me, the eighth rib was twice or even thrice as broad as in the rock-pigeon; and the seventh pair had distinct processes. In many breeds there are only seven ribs, as in seven out of eight skeletons of various Tumblers, and in several skeletons of Fantails, Turbits and Nuns.

In all these breeds the seventh pair was very small, and was destitute of processes, in which respect it differed from the same rib in the rock- pigeon. In one Tumbler, and in the Bussorah Carrier, even the sixth pair had no process. The hypapophysis of the second dorsal vertebra varies much in development; being sometimes (as in several, but not all Tumblers) nearly as prominent as that of the third dorsal vertebra; and the two hypapophyses together tend to form an ossified arch. The development of the arch, formed by the hypapophyses of the third and fourth dorsal vertebrae, also varies considerably, as does the size of the hypapophysis of the fifth vertebra.

The rock-pigeon has twelve sacral vertebrae; but these vary in number, relative size, and distinctness, in the different breeds. In Pouters, with their elongated bodies, there are thirteen or even fourteen, and, as we shall immediately see, an additional number of caudal vertebrae. In Runts and Carriers there is generally the proper number, namely twelve; but in one Runt, and in the Bussorah Carrier, there were only eleven. In Tumblers there are either eleven, or twelve, or thirteen sacral vertebrae.

The CAUDAL VERTEBRAE are seven in number in the rock-pigeon. In Fantails, which have their tails so largely developed, there are eight or nine, and apparently in one case ten, and they are a little longer than in the rock- pigeon, and their shape varies considerably. Pouters, also, have eight or nine caudal vertebrae. I have seen eight in a Nun and Jacobin. Tumblers, though such small birds, always have the normal number seven; as have Carriers, with one exception, in which there were only six.

The following table will serve as a summary, and will show the most remarkable deviations in the number of the vertebra and ribs which I have observed:--

TABLE 4. NUMBER OF VERTEBRAE AND RIBS IN:

1. THE ROCK PIGEON. Cervical Vertebrae: 12. Dorsal Vertebrae: 8. Dorsal Ribs: 8. The 6th pair with processes, the 7th pair without a process. Sacral Vertebrae: 12. Caudal Vertebrae: 7. Total: 39.

2. POUTER, FROM MR. BULT. Cervical Vertebrae: 12. Dorsal Vertebrae: 8. Dorsal Ribs: 8. The 6th and 7th pair with processes. Sacral Vertebrae: 14. Caudal Vertebrae: 8 or 9. Total: 42 or 43.

3. TUMBLER, DUTCH ROLLER. Cervical Vertebrae: 12. Dorsal Vertebrae: 8. Dorsal Ribs: 7. The 6th and 7th pair without processes. Sacral Vertebrae: 11. Caudal Vertebrae: 7. Total: 38.

4. BUSSORAH CARRIER. Cervical Vertebrae: 12. The twelfth bore a small rib. Dorsal Vertebrae: 8. Dorsal Ribs: 7. The 6th and 7th pair without processes. Sacral Vertebrae: 11. Caudal Vertebrae: 7. Total: 38.

The PELVIS differs very little in any breed. The anterior margin of the ilium, however, is sometimes a little more equally rounded on both sides than in the rock-pigeon. The ischium is also frequently rather more elongated. The obturator-notch is sometimes, as in many Tumblers, less developed than in the rock-pigeon. The ridges on the ilium are very prominent in most Runts.

(FIGURE 28. SCAPULAE, of natural size. A. Rock-pigeon. B. Short-faced Tumbler.)

In the bones of the extremities I could detect no difference, except in their proportional lengths; for instance, the metatarsus in a Pouter was 1.65 inch, and in a Short-faced Tumbler only .95 in length; and this is a greater difference than would naturally follow from their differently-sized bodies; but long legs in the Pouter, and small feet in the Tumbler, are selected points. In some Pouters the SCAPULA is rather straighter, and in some Tumblers it is straighter, with the apex less elongated, than in the rock-pigeon: in figure 28, the scapula of the rock-pigeon (A), and of a short-faced Tumbler (B), are given. The processes at the summit of the CORACOID, which receive the extremities of the furculum, form a more perfect cavity in some Tumblers than in the rock-pigeon: in Pouters these processes are larger and differently shaped, and the exterior angle of the extremity of the coracoid, which is articulated to the sternum, is squarer.

(FIGURE 29. FURCULA, of natural size. A. Short-faced Tumbler. B and C Fantail. D. Pouter.)

The two arms of the FURCULUM in Pouters diverge less, proportionally to their length, than in the rock-pigeon; and the symphysis is more solid and pointed. In Fantails the degree of divergence of the two arms varies in a remarkable manner. In figure 29, B and C represent the furcula of two Fantails; and it will be seen that the divergence in B is rather less even than in the furculum of the short-faced, small-sized Tumbler (A), whereas the divergence in C equals that in a rock-pigeon, or in the Pouter (D), though the latter is a much larger bird. The extremities of the furculum, where articulated to the coracoids, vary considerably in outline.

In the STERNUM the differences in form are slight, except in the size and outline of the perforations, which, both in the larger and lesser sized breeds, are sometimes small. These perforations, also, are sometimes either nearly circular, or elongated as is often the case with Carriers. The posterior perforations occasionally are not complete, being left open posteriorly. The marginal apophyses forming the anterior perforations vary greatly in development. The degree of convexity of the posterior part of the sternum differs much, being sometimes almost perfectly flat. The manubrium is rather more prominent in some individuals than in others, and the pore immediately under it varies greatly in size.]

CORRELATION OF GROWTH.

By this term I mean that the whole organisation is so connected, that when one part varies, other parts vary; but which of two correlated variations ought to be looked at as the cause and which as the effect, or whether both result from some common cause, we can seldom or never tell. The point of interest for us is that, when fanciers, by the continued selection of slight variations, have largely modified one part, they often unintentionally produce other modifications. For instance, the beak is readily acted on by selection, and, with its increased or diminished length, the tongue increases or diminishes, but not in due proportion; for, in a Barb and Short-faced Tumbler, both of which have very short beaks, the tongue, taking the rock-pigeon as the standard of comparison, was proportionally not shortened enough, whilst in two Carriers and in a Runt the tongue, proportionally with the beak, was not lengthened enough, thus, in a first-rate English Carrier, in which the beak from the tip to the feathered base was exactly thrice as long as in a first-rate Short-faced Tumbler, the tongue was only a little more than twice as long. But the tongue varies in length independently of the beak: thus in a Carrier with a beak 1.2 inch in length, the tongue was .67 in length: whilst in a Runt which equalled the Carrier in length of body and in stretch of wings from tip to tip, the beak was .92 whilst the tongue was .73 of an inch in length, so that the tongue was actually longer than in the carrier with its long beak. The tongue of the Runt was also very broad at the root. Of two Runts, one had its beak longer by .23 of an inch, whilst its tongue was shorter by .14 than in the other.

With the increased or diminished length of the beak the length of the slit forming the external orifice of the nostrils varies, but not in due proportion, for, taking the rock-pigeon as the standard, the orifice in a Short-faced Tumbler was not shortened in due proportion with its very short beak. On the other hand (and this could not have been anticipated), the orifice in three English Carriers, in the Bagadotten Carrier, and in a Runt (pigeon cygne), was longer by above the tenth of an inch than would follow from the length of the beak proportionally with that of the rock-pigeon. In one Carrier the orifice of the nostrils was thrice as long as in the rock- pigeon, though in body and length of beak this bird was not nearly double the size of the rock-pigeon. This greatly increased length of the orifice of the nostrils seems to stand partly in correlation with the enlargement of the wattled skin on the upper mandible and over the nostrils; and this is a character which is selected by fanciers. So again, the broad, naked, and wattled skin round the eyes of Carriers and Barbs is a selected character; and in obvious correlation with this, the eyelids, measured longitudinally, are proportionally more than double the length of those of the rock-pigeon.

The great difference (see figure 27) in the curvature of the lower jaw in the rock-pigeon, the Tumbler, and Bagadotten Carrier, stands in obvious relation to the curvature of the upper jaw, and more especially to the angle formed by the maxillo-jugal arch with the premaxillary bones. But in Carriers, Runts, and Barbs the singular reflexion of the upper margin of the middle part of the lower jaw (see figure 25) is not strictly correlated with the width or divergence (as may be clearly seen in figure 26) of the premaxillary bones, but with the breadth of the horny and soft parts of the upper mandible, which are always overlapped by the edges of the lower mandible.

In Pouters, the elongation of the body is a selected character, and the ribs, as we have seen, have generally become very broad, with the seventh pair furnished with processes; the sacral and caudal vertebrae have been augmented in number; the sternum has likewise increased in length (but not in the depth of the crest) by .4 of an inch more than would follow from the greater bulk of the body in comparison with that of the rock-pigeon. In Fantails, the length and number of the caudal vertebrae have increased. Hence, during the gradual progress of variation and selection, the internal bony framework and the external shape of the body have been, to a certain extent, modified in a correlated manner.

Although the wings and tail often vary in length independently of each other, it is scarcely possible to doubt that they generally tend to become elongated or shortened in correlation. This is well seen in Jacobins, and still more plainly in Runts, some varieties of which have their wings and tail of great length, whilst others have both very short. With Jacobins, the remarkable length of the tail and wing-feathers is not a character which is intentionally selected by fanciers; but fanciers have been trying for centuries, at least since the year 1600, to increase the length of the reversed feathers on the neck, so that the hood may more completely enclose the head; and it may be suspected that the increased length of the wing and tail-feathers stand in correlation with the increased length of the neck- feathers. Short-faced Tumblers have short wings in nearly due proportion with the reduced size of their bodies; but it is remarkable, seeing that the number of the primary wing-feathers is a constant character in most birds, that these Tumblers generally have only nine instead of ten primaries. I have myself observed this in eight birds; and the Original Columbarian Society (5/37. J.M. Eaton 'Treatise' edition 1858 page 78.) reduced the standard for Bald-head Tumblers from ten to nine white flight- feathers, thinking it unfair that a bird which had only nine feathers should be disqualified for a prize because it had not ten WHITE flight- feathers. On the other hand, in Carriers and Runts, which have large bodies and long wings, eleven primary feathers have occasionally been observed.

Mr. Tegetmeier has informed me of a curious and inexplicable case of correlation, namely, that young pigeons of all breeds which when mature become white, yellow, silver (i.e., extremely pale blue), or dun-coloured, are born almost naked; whereas pigeons of other colours are born well- clothed with down. Mr. Esquilant, however, has observed that young dun Carriers are not so bare as young dun Barbs and Tumblers. Mr. Tegetmeier has seen two young birds in the same nest, produced from differently coloured parents, which differed greatly in the degree to which they were at first clothed with down.

I have observed another case of correlation which at first sight appears quite inexplicable, but on which, as we shall see in a future chapter, some light can be thrown by the law of homologous parts varying in the same manner. The case is, that, when the feet are much feathered, the roots of the feathers are connected by a web of skin, and apparently in correlation with this the two outer toes become connected for a considerable space by skin. I have observed this in very many specimens of Pouters, Trumpeters, Swallows, Roller-tumblers (likewise observed in this breed by Mr. Brent), and in a lesser degree in other feather-footed pigeons.

The feet of the smaller and larger breeds are of course much smaller or larger than those of the rock-pigeon; but the scutellae or scales covering the toes and tarsi have not only decreased or increased in size, but likewise in number. To give a single instance, I have counted eight scutellae on the hind toe of a Runt, and only five on that of a Short-faced Tumbler. With birds in a state of nature the number of the scutellae on the feet is usually a constant character. The length of the feet and the length of the beak apparently stand in correlation; but as disuse apparently has affected the size of the feet, this case may come under the following discussion.

ON THE EFFECTS OF DISUSE.

In the following discussion on the relative proportions of the feet, sternum, furculum, scapulae, and wings, I may premise, in order to give some confidence to the reader, that all my measurements were made in the same manner, and that they were made without the least intention of applying them to the following purpose.

PIGEONS WITH THEIR BEAKS GENERALLY SHORTER THAN THAT OF THE ROCK-PIGEON, PROPORTIONALLY TO THE SIZE OF THEIR BODIES.

Column 1. Name of Breed.

Column 2. Actual length of Feet (inches).

Column 3. Difference between actual and calculated length of feet, in proportion to length of feet and size of body in the Rock-pigeon.

Column 3a. Too short by (inches).

Column 3b. Too long by (inches).

1. 2. 3a. 3b.

Wild rock-pigeon (mean measurement). 2.02

Short-faced Tumbler, bald-head. 1.57 0.11 ..

Short-faced Tumbler, almond. 1.60 0.16 ..

Tumbler, red magpie. 1.75 0.19 ..

Tumbler, red common (by standard to end of tail). 1.85 0.07 ..

Tumbler, common bald-head. 1.85 0.18 ..

Tumbler, roller. 1.80 0.06 ..

Turbit. 1.75 0.17 ..

Turbit. 1.80 0.01 ..

Turbit. 1.84 0.15 ..

Jacobin. 1.90 0.02 ..

Trumpeter, white. 2.02 0.06 ..

Trumpeter, mottled. 1.95 0.18 ..

Fantail (by standard to end of tail). 1.85 0.15 ..

Fantail (by standard to end of tail). 1.95 0.15 ..

Fantail crested var. Ditto. 1.95 0.0 0.0

Indian Frill-back Ditto. 1.8O 0.19 ..

English Frill-back. 2.10 0.03 ..

Nun. 1.82 0.02 ..

Laugher. 1.65 0.16 ..

Barb. 2.00 0.03 ..

Barb. 2.00 .. 0.03

Spot. 1.90 0.02 ..

Spot. 1.90 0.07 ..

Swallow, red. 1.85 0.18 ..

Swallow, blue. 2.00 .. 0.03

Pouter. 2.42 .. 0.11

Pouter, German. 2.30 .. 0.09

Bussorah Carrier. 2.17 .. 0.09

Number of specimens. 28 22 5

I measured most of the birds which came into my possession, from the feathered BASE of the beak (the length of beak itself being so variable) to the end of the tail, and to the oil-gland, but unfortunately (except in a few cases) not to the root of the tail; I measured each bird from the extreme tip to tip of wing; and the length of the terminal folded part of the wing, from the extremity of the primaries to the joint of the radius. I measured the feet without the claws, from the end of the middle toe to the end of the hind toe; and the tarsus and middle toe together. I have taken in every case the mean measurement of two wild rock-pigeons from the Shetland Islands, as the standard of comparison. The following table shows the actual length of the feet in each bird; and the difference between the length which the feet ought to have had according to the size of body of each, in comparison with the size of body and length of feet of the rock- pigeon, calculated (with a few specified exceptions) by the standard of the length of the body from the base of the beak to the oil-gland. I have preferred this standard, owing to the variability of the length of tail. But I have made similar calculations, taking as the standard the length from tip to tip of wing, and likewise in most cases from the base of the beak to the end of the tail; and the result has always been closely similar. To give an example: the first bird in the table, being a Short- faced Tumbler, is much smaller than the rock-pigeon, and would naturally have shorter feet; but it is found on calculation to have feet too short by .11 of an inch, in comparison with the feet of the rock-pigeon, relatively to the size of the body in these two birds, as measured from the base of beak to the oil-gland. So again, when this same Tumbler and the rock-pigeon were compared by the length of their wings, or by the extreme length of their bodies, the feet of the Tumbler were likewise found to be too short in very nearly the same proportion. I am well aware that the measurements pretend to greater accuracy than is possible, but it was less trouble to write down the actual measurements given by the compasses in each case than an approximation.

TABLE 5.II.

PIGEONS WITH THEIR BEAKS LONGER THAN THAT OF THE ROCK-PIGEON, PROPORTIONALLY TO THE SIZE OF THEIR BODIES.

Column 1. Name of Breed.

Column 2. Actual length of Feet (inches).

Column 3. Difference between actual and calculated length of feet, in proportion to length of feet and size of body in the Rock-pigeon.

Column 3a. Too short by (inches).

Column 3b. Too long by (inches).

1. 2. 3a. 3b.

Wild rock-pigeon (mean measurement). 2.02

Carrier. 2.60 .. 0.31

Carrier. 2.60 .. 0.25

Carrier. 2.40 .. 0.21

Carrier, Dragon. 2.25 .. 0.06

Bagadotten Carrier. 2.80 .. 0.56

Scanderoon, white. 2.80 .. 0.37

Scanderoon, Pigeon cygne. 2.85 .. 0.29

Runt. 2.75 .. 0.27

Number of specimens. 8 .. 8

In these two tables (Tables 5.I.and 5.II.) we see in the first column the actual length of the feet in thirty-six birds belonging to various breeds, and in the two other columns we see by how much the feet are too short or too long, according to the size of bird, in comparison with the rock- pigeon. In the first table twenty-two specimens have their feet too short, on an average by a little above the tenth of an inch (viz. .107); and five specimens have their feet on an average a very little too long, namely, by .07 of an inch. But some of these latter cases can be explained; for instance, with Pouters the legs and feet are selected for length, and thus any natural tendency to a diminution in the length of the feet will have been counteracted. In the Swallow and Barb, when the calculation was made on any standard of comparison besides the one used (viz. length of body from base of beak to oil-gland), the feet were found to be too small.

In the second table we have eight birds, with their beaks much longer than in the rock-pigeon, both actually and proportionally with the size of body, and their feet are in an equally marked manner longer, namely, in proportion, on an average by .29 of an inch. I should here state that in Table 5.I. there are a few partial exceptions to the beak being proportionally shorter than in the rock-pigeon: thus the beak of the English Frill-back is just perceptibly longer, and that of the Bussorah Carrier of the same length or slightly longer, than in the rock-pigeon. The beaks of Spots, Swallows, and Laughers are only a very little shorter, or of the same proportional length, but slenderer. Nevertheless, these two tables, taken conjointly, indicate pretty plainly some kind of correlation between the length of the beak and the size of the feet. Breeders of cattle and horses believe that there is an analogous connection between the length of the limbs and head; they assert that a race-horse with the head of a dray-horse, or a grey-hound with the head of a bulldog, would be a monstrous production. As fancy pigeons are generally kept in small aviaries, and are abundantly supplied with food, they must walk about much less than the wild rock-pigeon; and it may be admitted as highly probable that the reduction in the size of the feet in the twenty-two birds in the first table has been caused by disuse (5/38. In an analogous, but converse, manner, certain natural groups of the Columbidae, from being more terrestrial in their habits than other allied groups, have larger feet. See Prince Bonaparte 'Coup d'oeil sur l'Ordre des Pigeons.'), and that this reduction has acted by correlation on the beaks of the great majority of the birds in Table 5.I. When, on the other hand, the beak has been much elongated by the continued selection of successive slight increments of length, the feet by correlation have likewise become much elongated in comparison with those of the wild rock-pigeon, notwithstanding their lessened use.

As I had taken measures from the end of the middle toe to the heel of the tarsus in the rock-pigeon and in the above thirty-six birds, I have made calculations analogous with those above given, and the result is the same-- namely, that in the short-beaked breeds, with equally few exceptions as in the former case, the middle toe conjointly with the tarsus has decreased in length; whereas in the long-beaked breeds it has increased in length, though not quite so uniformly as in the former case, for the leg, in some varieties of the Runt varies much in length.

LENGTH OF STERNUM.

As fancy pigeons are generally confined in aviaries of moderate size, and as even when not confined they do not search for their own food, they must during many generations have used their wings incomparably less than the wild rock-pigeon. Hence it seemed to me probable that all the parts of the skeleton subservient to flight would be found to be reduced in size. With respect to the sternum, I have carefully measured its extreme length in twelve birds of different breeds, and in two wild rock-pigeons from the Shetland Islands. For the proportional comparison I have tried three standards of measurement, with all twelve birds namely, the length from the base of the beak to the oil-gland, to the end of the tail, and from the extreme tip to tip of wings. The result has been in each case nearly the same, the sternum being invariably found to be shorter than in the wild rock-pigeon. I will give only a single table, as calculated by the standard from the base of the beak to the oil-gland; for the result in this case is nearly the mean between the results obtained by the two other standards.

TABLE 5.III.

LENGTH OF STERNUM.

Column 1. Name of Breed.

Column 2. Actual Length in Inches.

Column 3. Too short by (inches).

1. 2. 3.

Wild Rock-pigeon. 2.55

Pied Scanderoon. 2.80 0.60

Bagadotten Carrier. 2.80 0.17

Dragon. 2.45 0.41

Carrier. 2.75 0.35

Short-faced Tumbler. 2.05 0.28

Barb. 2.35 0.34

Nun. 2.27 0.15

German Pouter. 2.36 0.54

Jacobin. 2.33 0.22

English Frill-back. 2.40 0.43

Swallow. 2.45 0.17

This table (Table 5.III.) shows that in these twelve breeds the sternum is of an average one-third of an inch (exactly .332) shorter than in the rock- pigeon, proportionally with the size of their bodies; so that the sternum has been reduced by between one-seventh and one-eighth of its entire length; and this is a considerable reduction.

I have also measured in twenty-one birds, including the above dozen, the prominence of the crest of the sternum relatively to its length, independently of the size of the body. In two of the twenty-one birds the crest was prominent in the same relative degree as in the rock-pigeon; in seven it was more prominent; but in five out of these seven, namely, in a Fantail, two Scanderoons, and two English Carriers, this greater prominence may to a certain extent be explained, as a prominent breast is admired and selected by fanciers; in the remaining twelve birds the prominence was less. Hence it follows that the crest exhibits a slight, though uncertain, tendency to be reduced in prominence in a greater degree than does the length of the sternum relatively to the size of body, in comparison with the rock-pigeon.

I have measured the length of the scapula in nine different large and small-sized breeds, and in all the scapula is proportionally shorter (taking the same standard as before) than in the wild rock-pigeon. The reduction in length on an average is very nearly one-fifth of an inch, or about one-ninth of the length of the scapula in the rock-pigeon.

The arms of the furcula in all the specimens which I compared, diverged less, proportionally with the size of body, than in the rock-pigeon; and the whole furculum was proportionally shorter. Thus in a Runt, which measured from tip to tip of wings 38 1/2 inches, the furculum was only a very little longer (with the arms hardly more divergent) than in a rock- pigeon which measured from tip to tip 26 1/2 inches. In a Barb, which in all its measurements was a little larger than the same rock-pigeon, the furculum was a quarter of an inch shorter. In a Pouter, the furculum had not been lengthened proportionally with the increased length of the body. In a Short-faced Tumbler, which measured from tip to tip of wings 24 inches, therefore only 2 1/2 inches less than the rock-pigeon, the furculum was barely two-thirds of the length of that of the rock-pigeon.]

We thus clearly see that the sternum, scapula, and furculum are all reduced in proportional length; but when we turn to the wings we find what at first appears a wholly different and unexpected result. I may here remark that I have not picked out specimens, but have used every measurement made by me. Taking the length from the base of beak to the end of the tail as the standard of comparison, I find that, out of thirty-five birds of various breeds, twenty-five have wings of greater, and ten have them of less proportional length, than in the rock-pigeon. But from the frequently correlated length of the tail and wing-feathers, it is better to take as the standard of comparison the length from the base of the beak to the oil- gland; and by this standard, out of twenty-six of the same birds which had been thus measured, twenty-one had wings too long, and only five had them too short. In the twenty-one birds the wings exceeded in length those of the rock-pigeon, on an average, by 1 1/3 inch; whilst in the five birds they were less in length by only .8 of an inch. As I was much surprised that the wings of closely confined birds should thus so frequently have been increased in length, it occurred to me that it might be solely due to the greater length of the wing-feathers; for this certainly is the case with the Jacobin, which has wings of unusual length. As in almost every case I had measured the folded wings, I subtracted the length of this terminal part from that of the expanded wings, and thus I obtained, with a moderate degree of accuracy, the length of the wings from the ends of the two radii, answering from wrist to wrist in our arms. The wings, thus measured in the same twenty-five birds, now gave a widely different result; for they were proportionally with those of the rock-pigeon too short in seventeen birds, and in only eight too long. Of these eight birds, five were long-beaked (5/39. It perhaps deserves notice that besides these five birds two of the eight were Barbs, which, as I have shown, must be classed in the same group with the long-beaked Carriers and Runts. Barbs may properly be called short-beaked Carriers. It would, therefore, appear as if, during the reduction of their beaks, their wings had retained a little of that excess of length which is characteristic of their nearest relations and progenitors.), and this fact perhaps indicates that there is some correlation of the length of the beak with the length of the bones of the wings, in the same manner as with that of the feet and tarsi. The shortening of the humerus and radius in the seventeen birds may probably be attributed to disuse, as in the case of the scapula and furculum to which the wing-bones are attached;--the lengthening of the wing-feathers, and consequently the expansion of the wings from tip to tip, being, on the other hand, as completely independent of use and disuse as is the growth of the hair or wool on our long-haired dogs or long-woolled sheep.

To sum up: we may confidently admit that the length of the sternum, and frequently the prominence of its crest, the length of the scapula and furculum, have all been reduced in size in comparison with the same parts in the rock-pigeon. And I presume that this may be attributed to disuse or lessened exercise. The wings, as measured from the ends of the radii, have likewise been generally reduced in length; but, owing to the increased growth of the wing-feathers, the wings, from tip to tip, are commonly longer than in the rock-pigeon. The feet, as well as the tarsi conjointly with the middle toe, have likewise in most cases become reduced; and this it is probable has been caused by their lessened use; but the existence of some sort of correlation between the feet and beak is shown more plainly than the effects of disuse. We have also some faint indication of a similar correlation between the main bones of the wing and the beak.

SUMMARY ON THE POINTS OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SEVERAL DOMESTIC RACES, AND BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL BIRDS.

The beak, together with the bones of the face, differ remarkably in length, breadth, shape, and curvature. The skull differs in shape, and greatly in the angle formed by the union of the pre-maxillary, nasal, and maxillo- jugal bones. The curvature of the lower jaw and the reflection of its upper margin, as well as the gape of the mouth, differ in a highly remarkable manner. The tongue varies much in length, both independently and in correlation with the length of the beak. The development of the naked, wattled skin over the nostrils and round the eyes varies in an extreme degree. The eyelids and the external orifices of the nostrils vary in length, and are to a certain extent correlated with the degree of development of the wattle. The size and form of the oesophagus and crop, and their capacity for inflation, differ immensely. The length of the neck varies. With the varying shape of the body, the breadth and number of the ribs, the presence of processes, the number of the sacral vertebrae, and the length of the sternum, all vary. The number and size of the coccygeal vertebrae vary, apparently in correlation with the increased size of the tail. The size and shape of the perforations in the sternum, and the size and divergence of the arms of the furculum, differ. The oil-gland varies in development, and is sometimes quite aborted. The direction and length of certain feathers have been much modified, as in the hood of the Jacobin and the frill of the Turbit. The wing and tail-feathers generally vary in length together, but sometimes independently of each other and of the size of the body. The number and position of the tail-feather vary to an unparalleled degree. The primary and secondary wing-feathers occasionally vary in number, apparently in correlation with the length of the wing. The length of the leg and the size of the feet, and, in connection with the latter, the number of the scutellae, all vary. A web of skin sometimes connects the bases of the two inner toes, and almost invariably the two outer toes when the feet are feathered.

The size of the body differs greatly: a Runt has been known to weigh more than five times as much as a Short-faced Tumbler. The eggs differ in size and shape. According to Parmentier (5/40. Temminck 'Hist. Nat. Gen. des Pigeons et des Gallinaces' tome 1 1813 page 170.), some races use much straw in building their nests, and others use little; but I cannot hear of any recent corroboration of this statement. The length of time required for hatching the eggs is uniform in all the breeds. The period at which the characteristic plumage of some breeds is acquired, and at which certain changes of colour supervene, differs. The degree to which the young birds are clothed with down when first hatched is different, and is correlated in a singular manner with the colour of the plumage. The manner of flight, and certain inherited movements, such as clapping the wings, tumbling either in the air or on the ground, and the manner of courting the female, present the most singular differences. In disposition the several races differ. Some races are very silent; others coo in a highly peculiar manner.

Although many different races have kept true in character during several centuries, as we shall hereafter more fully see, yet there is far more individual variability in the most constant breeds than in birds in a state of nature. There is hardly any exception to the rule that those characters vary most which are now most valued and attended to by fanciers, and which consequently are now being improved by continued selection. This is indirectly admitted by fanciers when they complain that it is much more difficult to breed high fancy pigeons up to the proper standard of excellence than the so-called toy pigeons, which differ from each other merely in colour; for particular colours when once acquired are not liable to continued improvement or augmentation. Some characters become attached, from quite unknown causes, more strongly to the male than to the female sex; so that we have in certain races, a tendency towards the appearance of secondary sexual characters (5/41. This term was used by John Hunter for such differences in structure between the males and females, as are not directly connected with the act of reproduction, as the tail of the peacock, the horns of deer, etc.) of which the aboriginal rock-pigeon displays not a trace.