Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-10-29
HoMINe PIGEONS FLY BY SIGHT.
So Believe the Most Careful Observers of
Their Long Jonrneys.

Their Long Journeys.
What the peculiar gift is which EN-
sbles the pigeon to return to fits home
from great distances is a matter upon
which authorities disagree. The most
general opinion among those who know
anything of the subject is that the birds
fly by sight alone. This theory would
seem to be borne out by the fact that
the best and most highly bred of racing
birds have frequently been lost in Lon
don fogs. The fact that instinct is I'M
erring, end that the homing pigeon not
only frequently errs, but exhibits at
times great indecision as to the correct
course for him to pursue, seems to pre-
clude the idea that he is governed solely
by instinct. The theory which is most
generally accepted is that the bird is
gifted with remarkable eyesight, and
also with a memory for landmarks
which is superior to a similar faculty in
any other animal. That the bird pos
sesses a high order of intelligence is
shown by the fact that homers which
have become lost in a race will frequent.
ly return to the room in which they
have been kept at the starting point of
the speed test.
In selecting homing pigeons for rae
ing purposes, even the best fanciers
often pick out birds as most likely
racers that cannot fly 20 miles without
becoming lost. The meanest, most
scraggy looking bird, without a single
good point, sometimes leaves its hand
some competitor, who is, to all appear
ances, perfect in physical proportions,
far in the rear. Still fanciers look with
interest to four points in a homing
pigeon which are considered of prime
Importance. The first of these is,
strange as the fact might appear to q
novice in the art, the eye. Mr.. Star, one
of the foremost and most successful of
American fanciers, has this to say of the
eye:
"The white eye may mean the cumu,
let, and If so, indicates that the bird will
fly high, have great endurance and
wing power. If the eye is dark, the
head round, and the beak short and
close-fitting, there will be a preponder'
ance of the owl type and the result will
be that the bird will fly later at night
than any other type. But whatever the
character of the color, the ball must eX-
tend beyond the line of the head. and
be so placed that the bird should have
a view of what is behind as well as be-
fore it. When a bird returns from a
journey over much new territory, this
protrusion of the eyeball is greatly in
creased, showing to what a great strain
the powers of vision have been subject
ed"
While Mr.. Star, in common with
other successful American fanciers,
pays little or no attention either to the
size or shape of the head, this point is
the second at which European fanciers
look with interest. It is generally con
coded that the shape makes but little
difference. The skull may be fiat, long
and narrow, OF high, short and wide,
But it must have room for the brain
and for a large brain at that, or else the
the bird is not considered a like
ly candidate for racing honors. Great
stress is laid upon this organ by
all Belgian and Holland fanciers, but in
this country the feature is almost en-.
tirely overlooked.
The chest should be broad, and is of as
great Importance as the wing. A mar
r~ow-chested bird can fly no great dis
lance without eXerting the muscles
which gives fullness to the breast beyonc
their endurance. The wings and tai
should be both exceptionally long, as
the tail acts as a rudder and the shorter
wings require much added exertior
for the same amount of flying.
The color of a pigeon has no signif
canoe, but the rule in breeding is tt
cross the colors when practicable.
Even the best bred of the "homers'
require most careful and intelligen'
training before they are entered il
races. While the physique of the birt
is well developed at the age of tel
weeks, it is thought best to give a con
siderably longer time for the brain t.
develop before the bird is trained TO
the work which lies ahead of him. A
the age of four months the first tria
trips may be made, and he is then flow
distances of between two and ninet,
miles, at intervals of two or three day
apart. Many birds are lost in these tria
trips, and those which return safel,
from the longer trial trips may be con
sidered fit to enter in the young birt
races. The shortest of these is 100 mile
in length, and the birds arc not sup
posed to be flown more than 90 mile
before taking part in the speed trials.
For the young birds the system o
training is supposed to accomplish tw'
widely different results. In the frs
place they teach the young bird to re
turn to his loft, and in the second the,
develop the muscles and prepare then
for the hard work which the races will
require of them. Training trips for old
er birds are made with the sole view o
getting their muscles limbered up agail
and toughened for tn" longer races
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