On Saturday May 19, 2007, I was privileged to once again help with a pigeon exhibit at the Open Barn at Bowers School Farm. Dave and Kathy Bierl were kind enough to assist me. Dave and Kathy have a long history of volunteering to teach people about pigeons and I wanted to hear how they approach teaching people about pigeons.
You can see all the pictures I took at the Open Barn here.
Pictured is Dave Bierl talking to folks at the pigeon exhibit.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Call a Spade a Shovel
Once upon a time, there was only the humble rock dove (Columba Livia). And then they met mankind and they started on a long journey together--mankind and this fascinating bird. Somewhere between that fateful day and ours, someone spotted a rock dove that didn't look like a rock dove. Maybe he (or she) spotted a brown rock dove. Maybe they spotted a rock dove doing somersaults in the air.
Both brown in pigeons and the somersaulting behavior (called rolling) are very old traits and both diverge from the "standard" rock dove. The point is that this first bird that was different from the rock dove necessitated a new name. You couldn't just call it a rock dove, now could you? How would anyone know that this was a special rock dove that turns somersaults in the air or that it was a brown bird as opposed to the blue ones that were everywhere? Hence the need for breed names was born.
From what I know, I believe most of these names were a matter of practicality. The pigeon which is now referred to as the Runt in the US, was probably called a Roman Pigeon by the people of the ancient world. Calling it the "Roman Pigeon" was very practical and sort of pithy. How the name changed from "Roman Pigeon" to "Runt" is an interesting study in etymology all by itself.
But, the more interesting question would be this: did everyone call it "Roman Pigeon"? I mean, if nothing else there's the simple question of not everyone in the ancient world speaking Latin (or more likely Greek). So would the locals simply give it the name "Roman Pigeon" in their local tongue? I don't know. There's also the fact that the name "Roman Pigeon" wouldn't tell you much about the bird other than the fact that someone thinks it originated in Rome. Calling it "Big Pigeon" would have been much more descriptive and handy. In fact the various Mondain breeds of pigeons (thought to have been created from that long lost "Roman Pigeon") all share the appellation "Mondain" which means something like "earthy and large".
This is, undoubtedly, an old problem; Carl Linne (better known as Linnaeus) invented an entire system of nomenclature to address a similar problem--the problem of differing local names in differing local languages for the same plants and animals. Perhaps we pigeon fanciers need to invent Latin names for our breeds. Of course without a central authority to assign names, it's sort of pointless anyway.
A name is just a handle on a particular set of genes regardless; the truth of the matter is that with certain birds--mongrel pigeons--there's not a name to give to the breed. And as long as people want to create new breeds and push forward into new territory there will always be new names to get confused.
Both brown in pigeons and the somersaulting behavior (called rolling) are very old traits and both diverge from the "standard" rock dove. The point is that this first bird that was different from the rock dove necessitated a new name. You couldn't just call it a rock dove, now could you? How would anyone know that this was a special rock dove that turns somersaults in the air or that it was a brown bird as opposed to the blue ones that were everywhere? Hence the need for breed names was born.
From what I know, I believe most of these names were a matter of practicality. The pigeon which is now referred to as the Runt in the US, was probably called a Roman Pigeon by the people of the ancient world. Calling it the "Roman Pigeon" was very practical and sort of pithy. How the name changed from "Roman Pigeon" to "Runt" is an interesting study in etymology all by itself.
But, the more interesting question would be this: did everyone call it "Roman Pigeon"? I mean, if nothing else there's the simple question of not everyone in the ancient world speaking Latin (or more likely Greek). So would the locals simply give it the name "Roman Pigeon" in their local tongue? I don't know. There's also the fact that the name "Roman Pigeon" wouldn't tell you much about the bird other than the fact that someone thinks it originated in Rome. Calling it "Big Pigeon" would have been much more descriptive and handy. In fact the various Mondain breeds of pigeons (thought to have been created from that long lost "Roman Pigeon") all share the appellation "Mondain" which means something like "earthy and large".
This is, undoubtedly, an old problem; Carl Linne (better known as Linnaeus) invented an entire system of nomenclature to address a similar problem--the problem of differing local names in differing local languages for the same plants and animals. Perhaps we pigeon fanciers need to invent Latin names for our breeds. Of course without a central authority to assign names, it's sort of pointless anyway.
A name is just a handle on a particular set of genes regardless; the truth of the matter is that with certain birds--mongrel pigeons--there's not a name to give to the breed. And as long as people want to create new breeds and push forward into new territory there will always be new names to get confused.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
New Shipping Regulations For Pigeons
Joe Powers was kind enough to forward a message from Bob Fragoman. In a nutshell, the Post Office has decided that they're only going to allow people shipping pigeons via the USPS to send them with boxes provided by a particular vendor. I think I've always used boxes from Horizon Micro-Environments (the approved vendor) anyway.
The applicable edition of the USPS Postal Bulletin has the details.
The applicable edition of the USPS Postal Bulletin has the details.
First And Second Gazebo Lofts
Another photo I've been meaning to blog for a while. Fred C. is a fellow pigeon fancier and a real nice guy. Anyway Fred decided to get some lofts built in the shape of a gazebo. As you can see for yourself, they are beautiful. Just goes to show that a loft can look good and be functional too.
(Photo is from October of 2006.)
(Photo is from October of 2006.)
Pigeon Egg Without Shell
I've been meaning to post this photo to my blog for a while. One of the hens laid this egg in January. You can see the dent in the membrane on the upper right side of the egg in the photo. This was an exceptionally rare thing for me (first time in several years of raising pigeons) but other fanciers told me that they've seen this happen before.
(Photo from January 2007.)
(Photo from January 2007.)
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