The Fantail is a popular

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

fancy pigeon Fancy pigeon refers to any breed of domestic pigeon, which is a domesticated form of the wild rock dove (''Columba livia''). They are bred by pigeon fanciers for various traits relating to size, shape, color, and behavior, and often exhibited at p ...

. It is characterised by a fan-shaped tail composed of 30 to 40 feathers, abnormally more than most members of the dove and pigeon family, which usually have 12 to 14 tail feathers. The breed is thought to have originated in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. There are several subvarieties, such as the English Fantail, the

Indian Fantail The Indian Fantail is a breed of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding. Indian Fantails, along with other varieties of domesticated pigeons are all descendants of the rock dove (''Columba livia''). Description The India ...

, and the

Thai Fantail Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode bloc ...

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

used it as one of the examples in the first chapter of his book ''

On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...

''. He believed it was a descendant of the

rock dove The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon ( also ; ''Columba livia'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domes ...

(''Columba livia''). Silky Fantail

There is a feather mutation called ''Silky'' that gives an interesting lace effect to a Fantail's tail feathers. Fantails with this mutation are known as Silky or Lace Fantails. Fantails are often used by pigeon flyers in the training of racing pigeons and

Tippler The tippler is a breed of domestic pigeon bred to participate in endurance competitions. Flying results of up to 22 hours (non-stop) have been reported. Origins The pigeon evolved from the rock pigeon (''Columba livia'') that is endemic ...

s. They are used as ''droppers'' in that they are placed on the loft landing board as a signal to the flying birds to come in and be fed.

Thai Fantail

This breed was first introduced by

. They are similar to Indian Fantails, but are pure white and have ribbon-like stripes on their tails. It is difficult to breed outside of Thailand, and few people have done so. A breeder in Pakistan successfully produced striped Thai Fantails by pairing black colored males and brown colored females of different breeds.

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Domestic pigeons Pigeon breeds {{Domesticated-pigeon-breed-stub

Thai Fantail

See also

References