The Pigmy Pouter is a
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 ...
of
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 ...
developed over many years of
selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant mal ...
. Pigmy Pouters, along with other varieties of
domesticated pigeons, are all descendants from the
rock pigeon
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'').
Noted British poultry breeder
Sir John Sebright (who later bred the
Sebright Bantam
The Sebright (IPA: ) is a British breed of bantam chicken. It is a true bantam – a miniature bird with no corresponding large version – and is one of the oldest recorded British bantam breeds. It is named after Sir John Saunders Sebrig ...
) is believed to have first bred the Pigmy Pouter, though the issue is debatable.
[Holland, Bill. Golden and Silver Sebright Bantams. American Bantam Association: 1980. pp. 2-3]
North American reception
Although the pigmy pouter has been heralded as a bizarre creature and its popularity has not increased much from its introduction to North American society, it still has a dedicated fanbase gathered together by groups such as the American Pigmy Pouter Club and The Canadian Pouter and Cropper Combine. Its low popularity makes obtaining such a bird a difficult task in North America. However, dedicated breeders have been striving to increase the bird's popularity and make it the most prevalent show bird.
See also
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Pouter
The Pouter pigeons are domesticated varieties of the rock dove, ''Columba livia'', characterized by a very large, inflatable crop. They are kept as ornamental or fancy breeds, valued for their unusual appearance. There are many varieties of pout ...
*
List of pigeon breeds
This is an alphabetical list of pigeon breeds. Pigeons and doves are members of the bird family Columbidae. Doves tend to be smaller and pigeons larger, although this distinction is not consistently applied.
The birds listed here are breeds of th ...
References
Pigeon breeds
Pigeon breeds originating in England
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