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FANCY THREADS
PigeonWatch Color Morphs
One of the most interesting characteristics of
city pigeons is that they come in many different colors. In fact, some pigeon fanciers--people
who especially like pigeons, or who breed them for racing, homing,
or showing purposes-- can identify up to 28 different color morphs! Most
of these color morphs include beautiful shiny neck feathers that reflect
different colors like rainbows. This shine is called iridescence. For Project
PigeonWatch, we're grouping pigeon colors into the following seven morphs only
(we use the names that pigeon fanciers use, only fewer of them).
Illustrations
by Julie Zickefoose
Blue-bar:The
color and pattern of the original wild pigeons from Europe, Asia, and
Africa is called blue-bar, even though these birds are not really blue.
Blue-bars generally have a dark head, neck, and chest with some
iridescence; a light-gray breast and belly; a black band at the end of the
tail; and two black stripes or bars on each wing.
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Red-bar:Some
pigeons have the same basic pattern as blue-bars but the black areas are
replaced by a rusty-red or brown color. These birds are called red-bars.
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Checker:If a
pigeon has a checker pattern on its wings it is called a checker. Checkers
can range from very light gray with only a few black checks, to very dark
with only a little light-gray still showing. Some checkers have wing-bars;
some do not.
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Red: When most or all of a pigeon¿s body and wings
are rusty-red or brown, it is simply called a red.
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Spread:If a
bird is totally black or dark gray, it is called a spread. To remember
this term, it helps to think that the dark color has spread over the
bird's entire body.
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White:These
birds are solid white. They are the "doves of peace." Some white
pigeons are albinos, with pink eyes and legs.
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 Pied: Sometimes
pigeons of any color have white patches, usually on the head or wing
feathers. These are called pieds. Pied birds come in two forms. One
type looks like it has been splashed with white. The other type has
white only on the primary wing feathers. Sometimes the white flight
feathers are hard to see when the bird is on the ground, but, when the
bird flies, the white is obvious. Some birds have both splashes and
white flight feathers.  |
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