the wallaby’s not sure whether it was such a good idea to add this page, but my friends in the fancy, as the hobby is called, will no doubt sympathize.

Pigeons are arguably among the first creatures to be domesticated when humankind chose to live a settled existence and a predilection for building flat-roofed temples with lots of ledges—ideal for pigeons to nest on—may have led to their very early being regarded as sacred in many cultures.The Jews, Christians and Muslims all depicted or mentioned pigeons in their written and spoken lore.

Descended from a single species, the Blue Rock Dove of north Africa and the lands surrounding the Mediterranean, the domestic pigeon occurs in a bewildering variety of form and color. There are birds that race home over long distances at an average of 40 mph or more, birds that perform aerobatics, birds bred for color, voice, appearance, and others bred to fly at great height above their home for hours on end.

If you ask any pigeon “fancier” why he or she so admires this “ revered and reviled” bird, you’d probably receive a blank look in reply. These pictures might help you understand our fascination—and Charles Darwin’s.

National Pigeon Association of USA

Australian National Pigeon Association

Michigan Pigeon Club

Foy’s

New England Pigeon Supplies

If you’d like your site linked to this page, please contact the wallaby

© 2009 Frank Povah
the little wallaby that could
all rights reserved

Below: Egyptian Swift. Centre (from top): Barbarisi, rear view of a Turkish Shikli Ahmar on take-off, a pair of Damascenes. Right (from top): Turkish Irinfili, a group of various breeds including Damascenes and Scandaroons

Turkish photos courtesy of my long-distance friend, Ersoy Koldas

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