page_title: Fancy pigeon
section_title: Homing pigeons
hierarchical_section_title: Fancy pigeon / Major breed families / Homer and Hen Pigeons / Homing pigeons
context_page_description: Fancy pigeon refers to any breed of domestic pigeon, which is a domesticated form of the wild rock dove. They are bred by pigeon fanciers for various traits relating to size, shape, color, and behavior, and often exhibited at pigeon shows, fairs and other livestock exhibits.
  There are about 800 pigeon breeds; considering all regional varieties all over the world there may be 1100 breeds. The European list of fancy pigeons alone names about 500 breeds. No other domestic animal has branched out into such a variety of forms and colours.
  Charles Darwin is known to have crossbred fancy pigeons, particularly the Ice Pigeon, to study variation within species, this work coming three years before his groundbreaking publication, On the Origin of Species.
context_section_description: This group includes breeds originally developed for their homing ability, and includes show-type racing pigeons.
  American Show Racer
  Dragoon
  English Carrier
  German Beauty Homer
  Homing pigeon
caption: German Beauty Homer
exif: {}