The Fantail
There are a number of pigeons which are strikingly distinguished by remarkable peculiarities in the form of the plumage; such are the Fantail, the Trumpeter, and the Jacobin. The fantail is perhaps the best known of these. The number of feathers in the tail of an ordinary pigeon is fourteen, but in this breed it is greatly increased; in some specimens even to three times that number, and thirty feathers are not uncommon in good birds.
The carriage of the tail is also greatly changed; instead of being borne behind, like that of an ordinary pigeon, it is held aloft, like the expanded tail of a peacock.
The engraving represents one of the best white fantails, the tail full, carried well over the back, and the long swan-like neck thrown back so as to touch the tail. Fantails are good hardy birds, and as they can be bought at all prices, very well suit the young fancier. Moreover, they soon become very tame, and may be reared almost everywhere.