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.

[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 this is the breed seen by Hasselquist in 1757 at Cairo, and said to have been imported from India.]

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

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 Latztaube (5/20. Neumeister 'Taubenzucht' tab. 4. figure 1.) 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 1 1/4 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 2 1/4 inches too long, and the two wings, from tip to tip, 5 1/4 inches too long. In disposition this bird is singularly quiet, seldom flying or moving about, as Bechstein and Riedel have likewise remarked in Germany. (5/21. Riedel 'Die Taubenzucht' 1824 s. 26. Bechstein 'Naturgeschichte Deutschlands' b. 4 s. 36 1795) 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. (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.

[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 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 11/I. 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 11/II. COMMON FRILL-BACK (DIE STRUPPTAUBE).

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

[This is a considerably larger bird than the rock-pigeon, 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 back-wards.]

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

[These elegant birds are smaller than the rock-pigeon. The beak is actually 1.7, 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. 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 11/IV. SPOTS (DIE BLASSTAUBEN; 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 (5/22. Willughby 'Ornithology' edited by Ray.); and in 1735 Moore remarks that they breed truly, as is the case at the present day.]

SUB-RACE 11/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.

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.

[I have made numerous measurements of the various parts of the body in the several breeds, and have hardly ever found them quite the same in birds of the same breed,—the differences being greater than we commonly meet with in wild species within the same district. To begin with the primary feathers of the wing and tail; but I must first mention, as some readers may not be aware of the fact, that the number of the primary wing and tail- feathers in wild birds is generally constant, and characterises, not only whole genera, but even whole families. When the tail-feathers are unusually numerous, as for instance in the swan, they are apt to be variable in number; but this does not apply to the several species and genera of the Columbidae, which never (as far as I can hear) have less than twelve or more than sixteen tail-feathers; and these numbers characterise, with rare exception, whole sub-families. (5/27. 'Coup-d'oeil sur L'Ordre des Pigeons' par C.L. Bonaparte 'Comptes Rendus' 1854-55. Mr. Blyth in 'Annals of Nat. Hist.' volume 19 1847 page 41, mentions, as a very singular fact, "that of the two species of Ectopistes, which are nearly allied to each other, one should have fourteen tail-feathers, while the other, the passenger pigeon of North America, should possess but the usual number—twelve.") The wild rock-pigeon has twelve tail-feathers. With Fantails, as we have seen, the number varies from fourteen to forty-two. In two young birds in the same nest I counted twenty-two and twenty-seven feathers. Pouters are very liable to have additional tail-feathers, and I have seen on several occasions fourteen or fifteen in my own birds. Mr. Bult had a specimen, examined by Mr. Yarrell, with seventeen tail-feathers. I had a Nun with thirteen, and another with fourteen tail-feathers; and in a Helmet, a breed barely distinguishable from the Nun, I have counted fifteen, and have heard of other such instances. On the other hand, Mr. Brent possessed a Dragon, which during its whole life never had more than ten tail-feathers; and one of my Dragons, descended from Mr. Brent's, had only eleven. I have seen a Bald-head Tumbler with only ten; and Mr. Brent had an Air-Tumbler with the same number, but another with fourteen tail-feathers. Two of these latter Tumblers, bred by Mr. Brent, were remarkable,—one from having the two central tail-feathers a little divergent, and the other from having the two outer feathers longer by three-eighths of an inch than the others; so that in both cases the tail exhibited a tendency, but in different ways, to become forked. And this shows us how a swallow-tailed breed, like that described by Bechstein, might have been formed by careful 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.)

[SKULL.

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.

[TABLE 5.I.

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.

CHAPTER 1.VI.

PIGEONS—continued.

ON THE ABORIGINAL PARENT-STOCK OF THE SEVERAL DOMESTIC RACES. HABITS OF LIFE. WILD RACES OF THE ROCK-PIGEON. DOVECOTE-PIGEONS. PROOFS OF THE DESCENT OF THE SEVERAL RACES FROM COLUMBA LIVIA. FERTILITY OF THE RACES WHEN CROSSED. REVERSION TO THE PLUMAGE OF THE WILD ROCK-PIGEON. CIRCUMSTANCES FAVOURABLE TO THE FORMATION OF THE RACES. ANTIQUITY AND HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL RACES. MANNER OF THEIR FORMATION. SELECTION. UNCONSCIOUS SELECTION. CARE TAKEN BY FANCIERS IN SELECTING THEIR BIRDS. SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT STRAINS GRADUALLY CHANGE INTO WELL-MARKED BREEDS. EXTINCTION OF INTERMEDIATE FORMS. CERTAIN BREEDS REMAIN PERMANENT, WHILST OTHERS CHANGE. SUMMARY.

The differences described in the last chapter between the eleven chief domestic races and between individual birds of the same race, would be of little significance, if they had not all descended from a single wild stock. The question of their origin is therefore of fundamental importance, and must be discussed at considerable length. No one will think this superfluous who considers the great amount of difference between the races, who knows how ancient many of them are, and how truly they breed at the present day. Fanciers almost unanimously believe that the different races are descended from several wild stocks, whereas most naturalists believe that all are descended from the Columba livia or rock-pigeon.

Temminck (6/1. Temminck 'Hist. Nat. Gen. des Pigeons' etc. tome 1 page 191.) has well observed, and Mr. Gould has made the same remark to me, that the aboriginal parent must have been a species which roosted and built its nest on rocks; and I may add that it must have been a social bird. For all the domestic races are highly social, and none are known to build or habitually to roost on trees. The awkward manner in which some pigeons, kept by me in a summer-house near an old walnut-tree, occasionally alighted on the barer branches, was evident. (6/2. I have heard through Sir C. Lyell from Miss Buckley, that some half-bred Carriers kept during many years near London regularly settled by day on some adjoining trees, and, after being disturbed in their loft by their young being taken, roosted on them at night.) Nevertheless, Mr. R. Scot Skirving informs me that he often saw crowds of pigeons in Upper Egypt settling on low trees, but not on palms, in preference to alighting on the mud hovels of the natives. In India Mr. Blyth (6/3. 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.' 2nd series volume 20 1857 page 509; and in a late volume of the 'Journal of the Asiatic Society.') has been assured that the wild C. livia, var. intermedia, sometimes roosts in trees. I may here give a curious instance of compulsion leading to changed habits: the banks of the Nile above lat. 28 deg 30' are perpendicular for a long distance, so that when the river is full the pigeons cannot alight on the shore to drink, and Mr. Skirving repeatedly saw whole flocks settle on the water, and drink whilst they floated down the stream. These flocks seen from a distance resembled flocks of gulls on the surface of the sea.

If any domestic race had descended from a species which was not social, or which built its nest and roosted in trees (6/4. In works written on the pigeon by fanciers I have sometimes observed the mistaken belief expressed that the species which naturalists called ground-pigeons (in contradistinction to arboreal pigeons) do not perch and build on trees. In these same works by fanciers wild species resembling the chief domestic races are often said to exist in various parts of the world; but such species are quite unknown to naturalists.) the sharp eyes of fanciers would assuredly have detected some vestige of so different an aboriginal habit. For we have reason to believe that aboriginal habits are long retained under domestication. Thus with the common ass we see signs of its original desert life in its strong dislike to cross the smallest stream of water, and in its pleasure in rolling in the dust. The same strong dislike to cross a stream is common to the camel, which has been domesticated from a very ancient period. Young pigs, though so tame, sometimes squat when frightened, and thus try to conceal themselves even on an open and bare place. Young turkeys, and occasionally even young fowls, when the hen gives the danger-cry, run away and try to hide themselves, like young partridges or pheasants, in order that their mother may take flight, of which she has lost the power. The musk-duck (Cairina moschata) in its native country often perches and roosts on trees (6/5. Sir R. Schomburgk in 'Journal R. Geograph. Soc.' volume 13 1844 page 32.), and our domesticated musk-ducks, though such sluggish birds, "are fond of perching on the tops of barns, walls, etc., and, if allowed to spend the night in the hen-house, the female will generally go to roost by the side of the hens, but the drake is too heavy to mount thither with ease." (6/6. Rev. E.S. Dixon 'Ornamental Poultry' 1848 pages 63, 66.) We know that the dog, however well and regularly fed, often buries, like the fox, any superfluous food; and we see him turning round and round on a carpet, as if to trample down grass to form a bed; we see him on bare pavements scratching backwards as if to throw earth over his excrement, although, as I believe, this is never effected even where there is earth. In the delight with which lambs and kids crowd together and frisk on the smallest hillock, we see a vestige of their former alpine habits.

We have therefore good reason to believe that all the domestic races of the pigeon are descended either from some one or from several species which both roosted and built their nests on rocks, and were social in disposition. As only five or six wild species have these habits, and make any near approach in structure to the domesticated pigeon, I will enumerate them.

[Firstly, the Columba leuconota resembles certain domestic varieties in its plumage, with the one marked and never-failing difference of a white band which crosses the tail at some distance from the extremity. This species, moreover, inhabits the Himalaya, close to the limit of perpetual snow; and therefore, as Mr. Blyth has remarked, is not likely to have been the parent of our domestic breeds, which thrive in the hottest countries. Secondly, the C. rupestris, of Central Asia, which is intermediate (6/7. 'Proc. Zoolog. Soc.' 1859 page 400.) between the C. leuconota and livia; but has nearly the same coloured tail as the former species. Thirdly, the Columba littoralis builds and roosts, according to Temminck, on rocks in the Malayan archipelago; it is white, excepting parts of the wing and the tip of the tail, which are black; its legs are livid-coloured, and this is a character not observed in any adult domestic pigeon; but I need not have mentioned this species or the closely-allied C. luctuosa, as they in fact belong to the genus Carpophaga. Fourthly, Columba guinea, which ranges from Guinea (6/8. Temminck 'Hist. Nat. Gen. des Pigeons' tome 1; also 'Les Pigeons' par Mme. Knip and Temminck. Bonaparte, however, in his 'Coup- d'oeil' believes that two closely allied species are confounded together under this name. The C. leucocephala of the West Indies is stated by Temminck to be a rock-pigeon; but I am informed by Mr. Gosse that this is an error.) to the Cape of Good Hope, and roosts either on trees or rocks, according to the nature of the country. This species belongs to the genus Strictoenas of Reichenbach, but is closely allied to Columba; it is to some extent coloured like certain domestic races, and has been said to be domesticated in Abyssinia; but Mr. Mansfield Parkyns, who collected the birds of that country and knows the species, informs me that this is a mistake. Moreover, the C. guinea is characterised by the feathers of the neck having peculiar notched tips,—a character not observed in any domestic race. Fifthly, the Columba oenas of Europe, which roosts on trees, and builds its nest in holes, either in trees or the ground; this species, as far as external characters go, might be the parent of several domestic races; but, though it crosses readily with the true rock-pigeon, the offspring, as we shall presently see, are sterile hybrids, and of such sterility there is not a trace when the domestic races are intercrossed. It should also be observed that if we were to admit, against all probability, that any of the foregoing five or six species were the parents of some of our domestic pigeons, not the least light would be thrown on the chief differences between the eleven most strongly-marked races.

We now come to the best known rock-pigeon, the Columba livia, which is often designated in Europe pre-eminently as the Rock-pigeon, and which naturalists believe to be the parent of all the domesticated breeds. This bird agrees in every essential character with the breeds which have been only slightly modified. It differs from all other species in being of a slaty-blue colour, with two black bars on the wings, and with the croup (or loins) white. Occasionally birds are seen in Faroe and the Hebrides with the black bars replaced by two or three black spots; this form has been named by Brehm (6/9. 'Handbuch der Naturgesch. Vogel Deutschlands.') C. amaliae, but this species has not been admitted as distinct by other ornithologists. Graba (6/10. 'Tagebuch, Reise nach Faro' 1830 s. 62.) even found a difference in the bars on the right and left wings of the same bird in Faroe. Another and rather more distinct form is either truly wild or has become feral on the cliffs of England and was doubtfully named by Mr. Blyth (6/11. 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.' volume 19 1847 page 102. This excellent paper on pigeons is well worth consulting.) as C. affinis, but is now no longer considered by him as a distinct species. C. affinis is rather smaller than the rock-pigeon of the Scottish islands, and has a very different appearance owing to the wing-coverts being chequered with black, with similar marks often extending over the back. The chequering consists of a large black spot on the two sides, but chiefly on the outer side, of each feather. The wing-bars in the true rock-pigeon and in the chequered variety are, in fact, due to similar though larger spots symmetrically crossing the secondary wing-feather and the larger coverts. Hence the chequering arises merely from an extension of these marks to other parts of the plumage. Chequered birds are not confined to the coasts of England; for they were found by Graba at Faroe; and W. Thompson (6/12. 'Natural History of Ireland' Birds volume 2 1850 page 11. For Graba see previous reference.) says that at Islay fully half the wild rock-pigeons were chequered. Colonel King, of Hythe, stocked his dovecote with young wild birds which he himself procured from nests at the Orkney Islands; and several specimens, kindly sent to me by him, were all plainly chequered. As we thus see that chequered birds occur mingled with the true rock-pigeon at three distinct sites, namely, Faroe, the Orkney Islands, and Islay, no importance can be attached to this natural variation in the plumage.

Prince C.L. Bonaparte (6/13. 'Coup-d'oeil sur l'Ordre des Pigeons' 'Comptes Rendus' 1854-55.), a great divider of species, enumerates, with a mark of interrogation, as distinct from C. livia, the C. turricola of Italy, the C. rupestris of Daouria, and the C. schimperi of Abyssinia; but these birds differ from C. livia in characters of the most trifling value. In the British Museum there is a chequered pigeon, probably the C. schimperi of Bonaparte, from Abyssinia. To these may be added the C. gymnocyclus of G.R. Gray from W. Africa, which is slightly more distinct, and has rather more naked skin round the eyes than the rock-pigeon; but from information given me by Dr. Daniell, it is doubtful whether this is a wild bird, for dovecote-pigeons (which I have examined) are kept on the coast of Guinea.

The wild rock-pigeon of India (C. intermedia of Strickland) has been more generally accepted as a distinct species. It differs chiefly in the croup being blue instead of snow-white; but as Mr. Blyth informs me, the tint varies, being sometimes albescent. When this form is domesticated chequered birds appear, just as occurs in Europe with the truly wild C. livia. Moreover we shall immediately have proof that the blue and white croup is a highly variable character; and Bechstein (6/14. 'Naturgeschichte Deutschlands' b. 4 1795 s. 14.) asserts that with dovecote-pigeons in Germany this is the most variable of all the characters of the plumage. Hence it may be concluded that C. intermedia cannot be ranked as specifically distinct from C. livia.

In Madeira there is a rock-pigeon which a few ornithologists have suspected to be distinct from C. livia. I have examined numerous specimens collected by Mr. E.V. Harcourt and Mr. Mason. They are rather smaller than the rock- pigeon from the Shetland Islands, and their beaks are plainly thinner, but the thickness of the beak varied in the several specimens. In plumage there is remarkable diversity; some specimens are identical in every feather (I speak after actual comparison) with the rock-pigeon of the Shetland Islands; others are chequered, like C. affinis from the cliffs of England, but generally to a greater degree, being almost black over the whole back; others are identical with the so-called C. intermedia of India in the degree of blueness of the croup; whilst others have this part very pale or very dark blue, and are likewise chequered. So much variability raises a strong suspicion that these birds are domestic pigeons which have become feral.

From these facts it can hardly be doubted that C. livia, affinis, intermedia, and the forms marked with an interrogation by Bonaparte ought all to be included under a single species. But it is quite immaterial whether or not they are thus ranked, and whether some one of these forms or all are the progenitors of the various domestic kinds, as far as any light can thus be thrown on the differences between the more strongly-marked races. That common dovecote-pigeons, which are kept in various parts of the world, are descended from one or from several of the above-mentioned wild varieties of C. livia, no one who compares them will doubt. But before making a few remarks on dovecote-pigeons, it should be stated that the wild rock-pigeon has been found easy to tame in several countries. We have seen that Colonel King at Hythe stocked his dovecote more than twenty years ago with young wild birds taken at the Orkney Islands, and since then they have greatly multiplied. The accurate Macgillivray (6/15. 'History of British Birds' volume 1 pages 275-284. Mr. Andrew Duncan tamed a rock-pigeon in the Shetland Islands. Mr. James Barclay, and Mr. Smith of Uyea Sound, both say that the wild rock-pigeon can be easily tamed; and the former gentleman asserts that the tamed birds breed four times a year. Dr. Lawrence Edmondstone informs me that a wild rock-pigeon came and settled in his dovecote in Balta Sound in the Shetland Islands, and bred with his pigeons; he has also given me other instances of the wild rock-pigeon having been taken young and breeding in captivity.) asserts that he completely tamed a wild rock-pigeon in the Hebrides; and several accounts are on records of these pigeons having bred in dovecotes in the Shetland Islands. In India, as Captain Hutton informs me, the wild rock-pigeon is easily tamed, and breeds readily with the domestic kind; and Mr. Blyth (6/16. 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. History' volume 19 1847 page 103 and volume for 1857 page 512.) asserts that wild birds come frequently to the dovecotes and mingle freely with their inhabitants. In the ancient 'Ayeen Akbery' it is written that, if a few wild pigeons be taken, "they are speedily joined by a thousand others of their kind."

Dovecote-pigeons are those which are kept in dovecotes in a semi- domesticated state; for no special care is taken of them, and they procure their own food, except during the severest weather. In England, and, judging from MM. Boitard and Corbie's work, in France, the common dovecote- pigeon exactly resembles the chequered variety of C. livia; but I have seen dovecotes brought from Yorkshire without any trace of chequering, like the wild rock-pigeon of the Shetland Islands. The chequered dovecotes from the Orkney Islands, after having been domesticated by Colonel King for more than twenty years, differed slightly from each other in the darkness of their plumage and in the thickness of their beaks; the thinnest beak being rather thicker than the thickest one in the Madeira birds. In Germany, according to Bechstein, the common dovecote-pigeon is not chequered. In India they often become chequered, and sometimes pied with white; the croup also, as I am informed by Mr. Blyth, becomes nearly white. I have received from Sir. J. Brooke some dovecote-pigeons, which originally came from the S. Natunas Islands in the Malay Archipelago, and which had been crossed with the Singapore dovecotes: they were small and the darkest variety was extremely like the dark chequered variety with a blue croup from Madeira; but the beak was not so thin, though decidedly thinner than in the rock- pigeon from the Shetland Islands. A dovecote-pigeon sent to me by Mr. Swinhoe from Foochow, in China, was likewise rather small, but differed in no other respect. I have also received through the kindness of Dr. Daniell, four living dovecote-pigeons from Sierra Leone (6/17. Domestic pigeons of the common kind are mentioned as being pretty numerous in John Barbut's 'Description of the Coast of Guinea' page 215 published in 1746; they are said, in accordance with the name which they bear, to have been imported.) these were fully as large as the Shetland rock-pigeon, with even bulkier bodies. In plumage some of them were identical with the Shetland rock pigeon, but with the metallic tints apparently rather more brilliant; others had a blue croup, and resembled the chequered variety of C. intermedia of India; and some were so much chequered as to be nearly black. In these four birds the beak differed slightly in length, but in all it was decidedly shorter, more massive, and stronger than in the wild rock-pigeon from the Shetland Islands, or in the English dovecote. When the beaks of these African pigeons were compared with the thinnest beaks of the wild Madeira specimens, the contrast was great; the former being fully one-third thicker in a vertical direction than the latter; so that any one at first would have felt inclined to rank these birds as specifically distinct; yet so perfectly graduated a series could be formed between the above-mentioned varieties, that it was obviously impossible to separate them.]

To sum up: the wild Columba livia, including under this name C. affinis, intermedia, and the other still more closely-affined geographical races, has a vast range from the southern coast of Norway and the Faroe Islands to the shores of the Mediterranean, to Madeira and the Canary Islands, to Abyssinia, India, and Japan. It varies greatly in plumage, being in many places chequered with black, and having either a white or blue croup or loins; it varies also slightly in the size of the beak and body. Dovecote- pigeons, which no one disputes are descended from one or more of the above wild forms, present a similar but greater range of variation in plumage, in the size of body, and in the length and thickness of the beak. There seems to be some relation between the croup being blue or white, and the temperature of the country inhabited by both wild and dovecote pigeons; for nearly all the dovecote-pigeons in the northern parts of Europe have a white croup, like that of the wild European rock-pigeon; and nearly all the dovecote-pigeons of India have a blue croup like that of the wild C. intermedia of India. As in various countries the wild rock-pigeon has been found easy to tame, it seems extremely probable that the dovecote-pigeons throughout the world are the descendants of at least two and perhaps more wild stocks; but these, as we have just seen, cannot be ranked as specifically distinct.

With respect to the variation of C. livia, we may without fear of contradiction go one step further. Those pigeon-fanciers who believe that all the chief races, such as Carriers, Pouters, Fantails, etc., are descended from distinct aboriginal stocks, yet admit that the so-called toy-pigeons, which differ from the rock-pigeon in little except colour, are descended from this bird. By toy-pigeons are meant such birds as Spots, Nuns, Helmets, Swallows, Priests, Monks, Porcelains, Swabians, Archangels, Breasts, Shields, and others in Europe, and many others in India. It would indeed be as puerile to suppose that all these birds are descended from so many distinct wild stocks as to suppose this to be the case with the many varieties of the gooseberry, heartsease, or dahlia. Yet these kinds all breed true, and many of them include sub-varieties which likewise transmit their character truly. They differ greatly from each other and from the rock-pigeon in plumage, slightly in size and proportions of body, in size of feet, and in the length and thickness of their beaks. They differ from each other in these respects more than do dovecote-pigeons. Although we may safely admit that dovecote-pigeons, which vary slightly, and that toy- pigeons, which vary in a greater degree in accordance with their more highly-domesticated condition, are descended from C. livia, including under this name the above-enumerated wild geographical races; yet the question becomes far more difficult when we consider the eleven principal races, most of which have been profoundly modified. It can, however, be shown, by indirect evidence of a perfectly conclusive nature, that these principal races are not descended from so many wild stocks; and if this be once admitted, few will dispute that they are the descendants of C. livia, which agrees with them so closely in habits and in most characters, which varies in a state of nature, and which has certainly undergone a considerable amount of variation, as in the toy-pigeons. We shall moreover presently see how eminently favourable circumstances have been for a great amount of modification in the more carefully tended breeds.

The reasons for concluding that the several principal races are not descended from so many aboriginal and unknown stocks may be grouped under the following six heads:—

FIRSTLY.

If the eleven chief races have not arisen from the variation of some one species, together with its geographical races, they must be descended from several extremely distinct aboriginal species; for no amount of crossing between only six or seven wild forms could produce races so distinct as Pouters, Carriers, Runts, Fantails, Turbits, Short-faced Tumblers, Jacobins, and Trumpeters. How could crossing produce, for instance, a Pouter or a Fantail, unless the two supposed aboriginal parents possessed the remarkable characters of these breeds? I am aware that some naturalists, following Pallas, believe that crossing gives a strong tendency to variation, independently of the characters inherited from either parent. They believe that it would be easier to raise a Pouter or Fantail pigeon from crossing two distinct species, neither of which possessed the characters of these races, than from any single species. I can find few facts in support of this doctrine, and believe in it only to a limited degree; but in a future chapter I shall have to recur to this subject. For our present purpose the point is not material. The question which concerns us is, whether or not many new and important characters have arisen since man first domesticated the pigeon. On the ordinary view, variability is due to changed conditions of life; on the Pallasian doctrine, variability, or the appearance of new characters, is due to some mysterious effect from the crossing of two species, neither of which possesses the characters in question. In some few instances it is possible that well-marked races may have been formed by crossing; for instance, a Barb might perhaps be formed by a cross between a long-beaked Carrier, having large eye-wattles, and some short-beaked pigeon. That many races have been in some degree modified by crossing, and that certain varieties which are distinguished only by peculiar tints have arisen from crosses between differently-coloured varieties, is almost certain. On the doctrine, therefore, that the chief races owe their differences to their descent from distinct species, we must admit that at least eight or nine, or more probably a dozen species, all having the same habit of breeding and roosting on rocks and living in society, either now exist somewhere, or formerly existed, but have become extinct as wild birds. Considering how carefully wild pigeons have been collected throughout the world, and what conspicuous birds they are, especially when frequenting rocks, it is extremely improbable that eight or nine species, which were long ago domesticated and therefore must have inhabited some anciently known country, should still exist in the wild state and be unknown to ornithologists.