Graeme Boyd

Dragoon, recessive yellow, soft pastels, Graeme Boyd.

Soft pastel drawing depicting the head profile of a domestic pigeon variety, the Dragoon.

Soft pastel drawing depicting a blue cheq Dragoon pigeon.

Graphite drawing of a blue bar Dragoon pigeon.

Dragoon, silver, head profile, soft pastels. Dragoon, blue cheq, soft pastels. Dragoon, blue bar graphite on paper, Graeme Boyd. #pigeonsky

All of those little short beaked tumblers have really expressive faces. They often have cheeky personalities too.

Pastel drawing depicting two Stettiner tumblers, domestic pigeon variety.

Stettiner tumbler pigeons, blue bar and blue grizzle, soft pastels, Graeme Boyd #pigeonsky

Thank you 🙂

This photo was taken in 2009 at Sandringham show. This is an African Barn Owl, I thought it looked similar, presumably another subspecies?

I'm saying that but any of those pairs could have produced that combination. If it turns out to be male then that excludes Pie and Ginger.

More likely Pie and Ginger which would make it a hen.

It has kept me occupied for most of my life now, I love to create new and different colour and pattern combinations.

Probably also pied and feather footed. At least one of them is likely to be chequered pattern but a spread parent could have given rise to the cheq pattern.

At least one of this bird's parents must have been ash red and at least one of it's parents must have been spread.

This is the juvenile expression of kite bronze on blue cheq. It also has pied factor, and some of the undergrizzle expression associated with that. This will basically be dark cheq pied when it moults.

Ash red females will always have ash red sons. So if an ash red female is paired to a blue, blue cheq, or black male, their sons will be ash red and their daughters will be blue, cheq, or black. If an ash red male is paired with an ash red female, then any blue offspring are female.

Likely a male as I can see slight blue flecking on the secondaries.

Yeah, that's just what it is, ash red combined with spread. Still juvenile plumage so it will change with the moult.

Festival of St Swithin, William Holman Hunt, Pre-Raphaelite artist. #pigeonsky

Pigeons at the George Inn, Huntingdon. #pigeonsky

Yeah, some people call them tar splashes, others will call them ink spots. Typical of pigeon lingo, different names for different things wherever you go!

Similar effects arise from another mutation known as "Stipper", also sex-linked and dominant.

This happens when a male has a different basic colour on each of his Z chromosomes. He has the dominant colour mutation Ash red on one chromosome and wild type blue on the other.

Same thing here on chequer pattern:

He would be known as a tar splashed mealy. Ash red bar is known as mealy.

This is an autosomal recessive modifier called smoky on basic blue and cheq pattern. Smoky lightens the skin, beak and toenails but it darkens the plumage. It also makes the whitish areas of the rump, underwings and albescent strip on the outer tail feathers more bluish.

Soft pastel drawing showing three views of a Lanner falcon, one in flight, one stood on a rock and one of the face in profile.

Lanner Falcon, soft pastels, Graeme Boyd

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Andalusian Blue American Show Racer. Soft pastels, Graeme Boyd. #pigeonsky

Photo accompanying a BBC news report about a toppled speed camera. Showing said toppled camera, attached to a pole lying on the ground, next to a wall with a sign that reads:"Old Pigeon Pie Court".

The place where pigeons don't dare go... #pigeonsky

#pigeonsky

If the male is "pure" for ash red, that is, if both of his colour genes are ash red, then 100% of their offspring in both sexes will also be ash red like the parents.

Probably will be as this is a dominant colour mutation in Columba Livia known as Ash red. It may be that the male carries a second colour, most likely wild type blue, in which case 25%, or 1 in 4 of their offspring will be blue hens, but 75% or 3 in 4 of their offspring will be ash red.