International Pigeon Day: Fancy Pigeons in Francis Willughby's Ornithologia
- Debbie Jordan
- Jun 13
- 3 min read
The 13th June is International Pigeon Day. To mark this, and the 350th anniversary of the publication of Francis Willughby’s Ornithologia, this post focuses on the impact of what the inclusion of numerous fancy pigeon breeds in Ornithologia had.
Ornithologia provided information on what Willughby identified as 17 different breeds of fancy pigeons including breeds known today as Runts, Pouters, Fantails, Carriers, Turbits, Barbs, Ringbeaters and Tumblers. What he described were the ancestors of the modern breeds but his descriptions can still be generally identified to modern breed categories or specific breeds such as the Mookee, Helmet, Damascene and Saxon Spot. It is also a record of some breeds that have been lost or absorbed such as the Turner and Finnikin.
Ornithologia has been described as a foundational text for pigeon fancying and a key historical point from which came the modern recognition and systematic breeding of fancy pigeons. Some have claimed that Ornithologia helped transform pigeon breeding from being viewed as a “lowly” hobby to a skilled and scientific pursuit. This was because Ornithologia, beyond being an important study of wild birds, was also one of the first works to apply the same detailed, empirical and anatomical study to domesticated breeds.
To study fancy pigeons, Willughby visited specific fancy pigeon breeders in England and the King’s aviary at St James’ Park in London. He did this in order to observe the breeds firsthand, to discover as many different kinds as possible and identify the variables within each kind. He also corresponded with other keepers of fancy pigeons, amongst whom was his friend Sir Philip Skippon.
Willughby had a keen eye for detail and one of his aims, for all species, was to determine identifiable characteristics. The reason for this was essentially twofold: first, to prevent confusion and enable everyone to identify what they were observing; and second, to enable him to methodically classify them. His method focused on grouping together those with “like” observable characteristics and this resulted in hierarchical dichotomous tables.
For the fancy breeds, Willughby noted what characteristics made them unique. This could have been colouring, length of beak, eye wattle, an unusual number of feathers, a certain behaviour or skill, or something else. In other words, Willughby did not limit his classification purely to the physical appearance or structure but recognised that behaviour could also be used to distinguish a species, which is particularly notable for the Carriers, Tumblers and Ringbeaters. His identification of the traits inadvertently helped underpin the later development to modern fancy pigeon breeding in which those traits became actively selected, bred and judged.
Furthermore, by documenting the morphological differences between the breeds yet still noting that they were all of the same “kind”, Willughby’s detailed record became a critical resource for later natural scientists, in particular Charles Darwin. Darwin is known to have been inspired by the work of Willughby and John Ray and cited their work frequently. He also chose to use fancy pigeon breeds to develop and study his evolutionary theory. Darwin used the fancy pigeons to demonstrate how artificial selection could produce radical physical changes from a single ancestor, specifically the wild Rock Dove (Columba livia), which modern genetic studies have confirmed. This served as his analogy for how natural selection operated in the wild.
Further Reading: John Ray, Francis Willughby's Ornithologia, 1678, pp.181-182, T34.
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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