Our friends from Liège Liège Pigeon Breedsnose pigeon”) and owl pigeons, high flyers and...
Transcript of Our friends from Liège Liège Pigeon Breedsnose pigeon”) and owl pigeons, high flyers and...
Nos amis Liégeois – Our friends from Liège
Liège Pigeon
Breeds
By: Lars Van Droogenbroeck,
Pigeon-Judge (Belgium).
This article was written with enjoyment and
I hope to get you, the reader, acquainted
with three of our seventeen Belgian pigeon
breeds. What connects these three together?
Simply, their origin, being the city of Liège, the capital of the province of Liège in
Wallonia, the French-speaking region of
Belgium. This city, situated in the valley of
the Meuse River, was in the mid-twentieth
century the centre of the mining industry,
which brought prosperity to Wallonia. In the city of Liège, at the end of the eighteenth
century, early nineteenth century three
breeds of pigeons have been created, being
the Beauty Homer de Liège, the Barbet of
Liège and the Liège Owl and to those three breeds I dedicate this article. I have chosen
to discuss each breed in a similar way. First,
a brief sketch of their origin / history, then a
summary of their overall impression, main
characteristics, recognized colours, common faults, etc.
Left: The Author, judging pigeons at an outdoor
show in a pavilion.
Let us begin with the Beauty Homer de Liège. Origin: The Beauty Homer de Liège exists since the
eighteenth century in the Liège region and descended
from crosses between the extinct Camus (also called “flat
nose pigeon”) and owl pigeons, high flyers and tumblers.
The Beauty Homer de Liège was once used as a racing pigeon and contributed to the development of our world-
famous Belgian racing pigeon.
Right: Beauty Homer de Liège blue barless. A very good
pigeon in type for this rare colour. Note to the nice head shape and fixed stance.
Physical Characteristics: The Beauty Homer de Liège
is part of the group “form” pigeons and can be
described as a medium-sized homing pigeon of about 450 to 500 grams with a short and compact type. The
stance is somewhat upright, only slightly sloping
forward. The head is very important and should be
broad, full and short, well rounded, with no flat spots,
an uninterrupted curved line from the tip of the beak to the back of the neck. The eyes should be orange-
red and the eye ceres narrow, fine, with a colour in
conformity with the feather colour. The beak is rather
short and broad, forming a curved, smooth line with
the forehead. White coloured for the Whites, black to
horn coloured for the other feather colours. Left: Young Beauty Homer de Liège, blue black
barred. In this photo you can see the correct underbody and
well-rounded breast.
Left: Young Beauty Homer de Liège, blue black barred.
Already at this young age this pigeon shows a nice
breed type and an harmonious rounded head.
The neck is short and strong, well defined throat
curve. The chest is broad, well-muscled and well
rounded. The back is short, well covered and with
broad shoulders. The wings must be strong and well
developed, closed well to the body. The tail is not too
long, narrow, tightly closed, and in line with the back, resting on the tail without touching the ground. Legs
are short and smooth with straight, strong and not too
long toes. The nail colour in conformity with the
feather colour. Feathers tight and smooth.
Colours: The Beauty Homer de Liège is recognised in: blue, black, red (dominant), ash red
barred (creamy) and their diluted colours; barred, barless, chequer and dark checker (T
pattern); all grizzles; white and dark or light tigered in black and blue. The lower back is
always uni coloured. The best quality is seen in
the Blues and Silvers, but other colour varieties are also definitely on the rise. In
recent years, there are a few breeders who
specialized in mealy and creamy as well as in
the barless varieties.
Right:
Young Beauty Homer de Liège, ash red
barless. So far looking at the youngster it is looking
well, a promising pigeon, especially for such a rare colour variety!
Faults: Things we don’t want in the Beauty Homer de Liège are too light or too heavy
birds. A Beauty Homer de Liège certainly
should not be long bodied, or have a narrow
breast or a too long head. The beak should not
be too long or have a large coarse wattles.
Also coarse eye ceres are not wanted,
although old cocks often do have them.
Broken eyes or two different eye colours are a fault, also red tinted eye ceres, any
traces of a frill, split feathering in the
breast, two coloured on the rump, white
nail(s) except for the Whites.
Left:
A pair of Beauty Homers de Liège in their
breeding compartment. A blue blackbar male and a silver dark barred female Both
birds have good body type and filled heads. Note the two perfect wing bars of
the male bird in the front.
Characteristics: The Beauty Homer de
Liège is a very alert and vital pigeon. They
will easily rear several rounds per year. You
should pay attention though that their beaks are not getting to short or narrow,
which will give problems with feeding the young at a certain age. When they are allowed to
free fly, they will eagerly enjoy the opportunity.
Status: Mainly bred in Wallonia, but also in Flanders more and more Beauty Homer de Liège are seen in excellent quality!
We will continue with its ‘brother’, the
Barbet of Liège.
Right: Barbet of Liège, blue black barred. The bird in the picture shows the required
breed type with a well developed frill. Here
we should watch out for too much backskull at the back of the head.
Origin: The Barbet of Liège has is beginnings
in the 19th century in the Liège region and
descended from crosses between the extinct
Camus and an Owl Pigeon. It is not clearly
stated which Owl breed this was. There is a chance this was the Old German Owl, but
also the French Owl, Italian Owl and even
the Liège Owl stand a chance.... In those
years, the Barbet of Liège was used by the Liège pigeon keepers as a homing pigeon,
but the flying type was not maintained. The
Barbet of Liège is closely related to and
comparable to the Beauty Homer de Liège;
the only difference is the frill. Left: A blue blackbar Barbet of Liège in the
nest bowl.
Physical Characteristics: The Barbet of Liège
belongs to the Owl Pigeon breeds, but
different from the other Belgian Owl Pigeon
breeds, it is not a ‘shield’ owl variety. It is a
medium size Owl Pigeon, short and compact
with slightly sloping carriage and with a well developed frill. The head is well rounded and
broad. The head profile is an unbroken curve
from the top of the head to the beak tip
without any break. The highest point is right
above the eye. The eye colour is orange-red, the eye ceres should be very fine, sometimes
with only few irregularities, the cere colour is
in conformity with the feather colour. The
beak is short and strong, forming a curved,
smooth line with the forehead.
Right: An ash red barred Barbet of Liège, with
a very good head, frill, colour and marking. Although the bird could stand better in this
picture.
White coloured for the Whites, black to horn coloured for the other feather colours. The
nose wattles are broad but not protruding.
The neck is rather short, widening to the
base, with a clear, distinct, slightly curved
throat. (Certainly not a dewlap) and not forgetting, a well formed Jabot (chest frill).
The breast is very broad and well rounded,
and protruding. The back is short and well
covered by the strong wings that are well
closed with wide flights full feathered back wing. The tail is well closed, carried in line
with the back and held clear of the floor. The
legs are fairly short, smooth, carmine red,
with strong, straight, not too long toes. The
nail colour is in conformity with the feather
colour. The Barbet of Liège has opulent feathering, but tight and smooth.
Above: Two ash red barred young Barbet of Lièges in the nest bowl.
Right:
An ash red dark barred Barbet of Liège. Already as a young bird, this pigeon showed
a very good stance, fine rounded head with a broad frontal. The throat could be curved a
little better.
Colours: The Barbet of Liège is recognised in:
blue, black, red (dominant), ash red barred
(creamy) and their diluted colours; barred,
barless, chequer and dark checker (T
pattern); all grizzles; white and dark or light tigered in black and blue. The lower back is
always single coloured.
Faults: What can go wrong in the Barbet of
Liège? Well, the following things we consider
as being a fault: too long, narrow body, wide tail,
too flat or too narrow skull, narrow frontal, too
long in beak, broken eyes or two different coloured eyes, red eye ceres and feather parting
below the throat. Also the Barbet of Liège should
not have a dewlap or a two-coloured lower rump
or white nails (except in the White).
Left: Barbet of Liège, silver dark barred. Perfect
skull line and width in the forehead. Very good
Jabot (frill), and a well rounded breast, in
particular as this is a hen. Watch out for getting
a break in the feathering under the throat.
Right: Head study of a Barbet of Liège well-formed
jabot. When standing correctly in the cage, the point of the beak is hidden in the frill feathers.
Characteristics: The Barbet of Liège is a good parent bird, as long as we keep an eye on the
beak of the parents not becoming too short
and broad. When the beaks are too short, the
parent birds will stop feeding their young when
these are two weeks old. That is why some fanciers prefer to have the young reared by
foster parents. (For instance, the Belgium
homer pigeon), although I would go for a
selection on the parent birds that can rear their
own young without problems. But due to
crossing of the Beauty Homer de Liège there are presently Barbets with a small jabot and also a broader and shorter body, which causes a bad wing covering of the back. If the Barbet
of Liège is allowed to free fly they will be happy to fly around the loft all day.
Status: Only recently the Barbet of
Liège was listed as a rare pigeon, but lately we have noticed a positive
evolution with several enthusiastic
breeders in Wallonia, and now also in
Flanders. This has already resulted in
a class of 40 birds at the show, in a great number of colour varieties.
Another positive step for the breed
was the founding of a specialty club
for the Barbet of Liège in 2011. This
Club is also partly responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the
breed in Europe.
Left: A Barbet of Liège, dominant red hen in the nest bowl.
The last of the three breeds is the
Liège Owl.
Origin: Our Belgian Owl pigeons are
thought to be of Eastern origin and
known since the 15th century. During
the 19th century at the start of the
pigeon sport, the French Owl was crossed with the – now extinct - Camus
pigeon, and this resulted in a coveted
flying pigeon, the Liège Owl.
The Liège Owl is closely related to the
Antwerp Smerle, the latter however has
undergone a real metamorphosis, while the Liège Owl kept the flying type.
Right: A Liège Owl, black shield. A very
good breed representative for this very rare colour variety in the Liège Owl.
Note the good width of the forehead.
Physical Characteristics: The Liège Owl is a white Shield Owl, meaning, a white bird with a
coloured wing shield. It is a rather small pigeon weighing only 400 grams. The Jabot (frill)
has to be long and full. The Liège Owl is relatively short in type, but still looks a bit longer than the Barbet of Liège, because it is less sturdy build. The body posture is almost
horizontal. The head is longish, rounded with a medium size pinkish beak of about 18 mm.
The throat is well curved. The head profile is an unbroken curve from the top of the head to
the beak tip without any break. The eyes are dark with fine, smooth, pale eye ceres. The
neck is of medium length, strong at the base. The breast is broad and protruding. The beak is short, well covered and only slightly sloping. The wings are of normal width, tight and well
covering the back. The wing tips are carried on the tail and must not cross. The tail is short to
medium length, well closed and carried horizontal.
The legs are rather short, clean and red coloured with flesh colour nails. The feathering is
tight and smooth. Below: A pair of Liège Owl (red shield and yellow shield) in the breeding compartment near
the nest bowl.
Left: A red shield Liège Owl.
Below: A yellow shield Liège Owl.
This hen was awarded the max 97 points at the Club Show for Belgian Pigeon Breeds in
Oud-Heverlee. The bird is especially judged ‘excellent’ because of the intensity of its
coloured wing shields. It could stand a little better in this photo.
In recent years, the breeders are
working mainly on the
improvement of the type, which
means that often many pigeons kept in the loft are without the
correct marking, which is then, in
turn, shown up in the offspring.
Through crossing-in the French
Owl, most of the present Liège Owl have a good head form and
by the Aachen Lacquershield the
colour has become more intense
in recent years, but apart from
these desired characteristics, the two breeds also have passed on a
dewlap, which in turn is not
wanted and should be strictly
selected out!
Left: Liège owl, red shield. Very good breed
representative with an outstanding type and perfect
head profile.
Colours: About colour and
marking I would like to explain
that only the wing-shield is
coloured, although some colour behind the legs is
tolerated. At least 7 primaries
have to be white ( equal
number in both wings). The
thumb feathers don’t have to be coloured, althoug it is a
plus if they are. Starting from
the coming Show season
2014-2015, having a coloured
feather within the 7 outer
primaries is no longer tolerated. This holds for all
Belgian Shield Owls. Recognised colours are: In barless: black, dun, brown, red, yellow, blue
and silver. In barred and chequer: blue, silver, ash red, ash yellow and brown. Recognised
colour varieties in barred and laced are: black, red, yellow, blue and brown.
Above: The three pigeon breeds of Liège together at the feeder.
Faults: Concerning the colours; having less than 7 white primaries is a serious fault, also
having a coloured primary between the whites. Further the known colour and marking faults. The Liège Owl should not be too heavy in weight, too long or narrow and not have a sloping
carriage. Faults concerning the head: not correct head profile, too coarse, too narrow or
pointed head, forehead too round or a break in the curve of the head profile; flat skull; a too
short, too long or weak beak, or not correct beak setting, also a thin under beak or colour
spots appearing in the beak are a fault. Furthermore having a dewlap, no jabot, wrong eye
colour, too red eye ceres and feathered legs are a fault.
Characteristics: De Liège Owl is a very good parent bird and may rear a pair of young every
five weeks. The feeding of the young goes without problems, also because of their medium
long beak and less broad head. Apart from that, the Liège Owl is very easy to handle, far
from aggressive. When offered free flight, they also like touring a few daily
laps over the loft. Concerning showing
the bird, the Liège Owl will take little
more conditioning than the other two
Liège pigeon breeds. Perfectly marked birds are very rare (read: they don’t
excist), so it is important to condition
your show birds, meaning, clipping off
the false coloured feathers – assuming
these are only a few.
Status: Lately, the Liège Owl is truly
becoming a show breed and can be
admired at almost every pigeon show
here in Belgium; thanks to several
enthousiastic breeders in both Flanders and Wallonia. However, outside Belgium the Liège
Owl is hardly known. I think this is because each country has its own Shield Owl breed (Old
Dutch Owl, Old German Owl, French Owl, etc.)
Above: The author, Lars Van Droogenbroeck, standing in front of his lofts and aviary with,
of course, all 3 Liège pigeon breeds.
“I have been a pigeon fancier for several years now and I am a great fan of the three Liège
pigeon breeds. These are three very pretty pigeon breeds, which are easy to breed and do not require special care. They are suitable to free fly and are real show birds that are full of
pride and nobility; they will show their best in the show pen and may even win a prize for
their keeper. I hope that I could get you interested in our breeds with this article, and if there
are some in the future that ask you for a Belgian pigeon breed, then do not forget to
recommend our friends of Liège. Unknown is unloved, but at least now you know some more about these pretty breeds.”
Lars Van Droogenbroeck
Pigeon Judge (Belgium) [email protected]
Copyright ©2014 All rights reserved by the Aviculture-Europe Foundation.
This is a publication by the online magazine www.aviculture-europe.nl English edition ISSN: 2352-2445
You are not allowed to copy, distribute, send or publish these texts or photos without our prior permission in writing.