The Magpie Pigeon

Descriptive Standard

 

SIZE AND PROPORTION.

 

SIZE – Medium    There should be no hard and fast measurements as to height, however.

 

PROPORTION – Every part of the bird’s body, limbs, etc., should be evenly balanced, with no undue exaggeration of any one point.

 

HEAD.

 

Head must be long and thin. Beginning at the front skull (next to wattle) the profile should rise gently to the top skull, widening from the gape to the centre of the top skull, widening from the gape to the centre of the top skull with moderate substance which in pigeon technicality is termed fullness of face. At this slight elevation the head must gradually fall away again, which completes the back skull and should be of about the same dimensions as the front skull. Junction of head with neck to be neat and almost imperceptible without throatiness.

 

NECK.

 

It should be long, fine and slender, quite free from gullet or fullness at the throat and its circumferences should be narrowest at the point of junction with the head, swelling gently towards the shoulders which it should join with a graceful and gentle curve. The length of neck should be in proportion to the size of the bird.

 

THE BODY.

 

The body should be slender & shallow in keel. The shoulders ought to be pointed upwards and carried as high as possible. The back should be carried at a sharp angle upwards with sufficient hollowness in it to allow the tail to clear the ground by about half-an-inch with the legs set well back.

 

CARRIAGE.

 

It should be erect, smart and sprightly.

 

LIMBS.

 

The limbs should be long, stilty and rich red in colour and the pastern slightly shorter than the thigh, which must show prominence and run backwards so as to allow a slight bend at the hock. The limbs should be set well back in the body. By this position correct carriage is obtained that is to say, high, well-carried shoulders and properly poised body.

 

COLOUR AND MARKINGS.

 

The whole of the body, except head, neck and breast, back, saddle and tail, pure white, the colour on the coloured portions to be bright, deep and lustrous as possible. In blacks the iridescent colours and metallic sheen are most important. Wherever the colour extends it must be of one rich even depth extending even to the shafts of the tail feathers. Cut on breast sharp & evenly defined, the colour extending downwards to about the tip of the breast bone or a very little below, running across the breast, either in a straight line or slightly curing upwards towards the shoulders, showing a slightly convex form. Cut on shoulders, colour extending across the broadest part of the back at the shoulders from side to side at intersection of the wing with body, tapering evenly and smoothly towards the tail and forming an elongated heart of V shaped saddle. Cut at vent, even and extending only a very short distance from beneath root of tail, no foul or coloured feathers extending towards thighs or belly. Blues and Silvers should have black tail bars.

 

EYE AND EYE CERE.

 

Eye, white or pearl colour, pupil small and intensely black and clearly defined; what is commonly known as “fish eye”. The eye cere should be small, well serrated, fine in texture and of a coral red colour. A bird with one bull eye should be penalised, but if it has two, it should be passed altogether.

 

BEAK.

 

Beak should be long thin, and nearly equal in substance throughout, with slight hook at end of upper mandible, but no dip in lower mandible, free from coarseness, furnished with slight wattle of fine texture, reddish in colour, free from stain or markings except in Blacks, Blues, Silvers of Duns, in which colour a very slight Vandyke mark on tip or upper mandible is admissible.

 

TAIL AND FLIGHTS

 

Tail rather long, the feathers narrow and closely folded, containing not more than twelve feathers, not swallow tailed or divided in centre; the tail should be carried in a line with the back, just clear of the ground, but not cocked up at all. Flights rather narrow, closely folded, carried close to side, tips resting on top of tail about half-an-inch from end, not crossed.

 

PLUMAGE

 

Close and compact.

Below are the revised scale of points for the Ideal Magpie Pigeon, as adopted by the Magpie Club at Olympia, December 11, 1922.