PRIZE-WINNING PIGEONS BRING PLUMAGE AND PERSONALITY TO DEVON COUNTY SHOW

Thought you knew what a pigeon looked like? Think again!

Anyone who fancies they know what a pigeon looks like should be prepared to have their minds and eyes boggled at the Devon County Show this May.

Over 350 of the UK’s most unusual-looking ‘fancy’ pigeons will be gathering at the Show, taking place at the Devon County Showground, Westpoint, from May 16 to 18.

 

The Show’s Pigeon Secretary, Adrian Down, said: ‘People think it means just a normal pigeon you get off the street but these are far prettier. We’ve got breeders coming from all over the country bringing their best examples of some of the finest fancy pigeons in the land.’

Mr Down, who has been breeding fancy pigeons since he was seven-years-old, said there would be plenty for visitors to enjoy in the pigeon tent this year at the Show, with breeds including Jacobins, which have glamorous film-star style ruffs around their necks, and the feisty Spanish Modenas, who were originally bred for fighting.  Other fancy pigeons to see at the show include:

  • Tipplers
  • Ice Pigeons
  • Show Racers
  • Exhibition Fantails
  • Muffed Tumblers
  • Limerick Tumblers
  • West of England Tumblers.

Mr Down said visitors will be able to stroke many of the birds and find out more about their heritage, with expert pigeon handlers offering their insight and a number of information boards and activities for children around the marquee. Mr Down said although there won’t be any racing pigeons at the Show, visitors will be able to see a vintage racing clock - the instrument which measures the speed at which racing pigeons complete their flights.

Mr Down said: There have been pigeons at Devon County Show ever since I can remember. My mum and dad and my brother all showed them. I’ve had a couple of Best in Shows but it’s not really about that. I’ve got a lot of time for fancy pigeons. I just like looking at them.’

Ends

Further press information from Heloise D’Souza, DsouzaPR Ltd, Tel: 01460 239299/07770 988 612

FANCY THAT!: 12 AMAZING THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT PIGEONS

 

  • There are about 800 recorded pigeon breeds around the world; no other domestic animal - not even dogs - has developed such a wide variety of shapes and colours.

 

  • Fancy pigeons are domesticated descendants of the Wild Rock Dove - it’s likely that’s Noah’s dove was in fact a pigeon.

 

  • Charles Darwin had a go at crossbreeding an Ice Pigeon, to study variation within species, research which informed his groundbreaking publication On the Origin of Species.

 

  • There are pigeon shows all over the world. The largest pigeon show is held in Nuremberg: the German National Pigeon Show, which has over 33,500 pigeons. In the UK, the Royal Pigeon Racing Association show in Blackpool is attended by over 25,000.

 

  • The most expensive racing pigeon ever bought was called Invincible Spirit. He won the 719 mile Barcelona International Classic race in 1992 and went to live out his days in a secret loft at a pigeon breeding centre, where he had round the clock security and his offspring sold for thousands of pounds.

 

  • Many war pilots owe their lives to homing pigeons. Pilots carried them in case they had to ditch their plane and would release the bird to send for help.

 

  • Asian ‘feather and voice’ pigeons are known for their laughing or trumpeting sound.

 

  • A full grown pigeon has about 10,000 feathers. ‘Frill’ pigeons have reversed feather formations around their heads that look like glamorous collars.

 

  • Some racing pigeons have been clocked flying as fast as 93mph.

 

  • Pigeons can breed from as young as five months. And both parents feed their young milk.

 

  • Unless they are separated, pigeons mate for life and the oldest recorded pigeon was 30 years old, meaning some pigeons could celebrate almost 30 years of marriage!

 

  • There are more than a million recorded pigeon fanciers across the world, each with an average of four fancy pigeons. That’s four million fancy pigeons.