English Pouter facts for kids
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Brown English Pouter
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| Conservation status | Common |
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| Country of origin | England |
| Classification | |
| US Breed Group | Fancy |
| EE Breed Group | Pouter and Cropper |
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The English Pouter is a special kind of pigeon breed. It's famous for its very large crop, which is like a pouch on its chest. This unique pigeon was developed over many years through selective breeding. This means people carefully chose which pigeons to breed to get certain features. English Pouters, along with all other types of domesticated pigeons, are descendants of the wild rock pigeon. The famous scientist Charles Darwin even wrote about how distinct this breed was in his book from 1868.
A Look Back in Time
How did the English Pouter come to be? One idea from a pigeon expert named William Bernhardt Tegetmeier is that it came from mixing older pigeon breeds. These included the Dutch Cropper, the Uploper, and the Parisian Pouter. These older breeds were first described in writings from the 1600s.
However, an earlier idea from John Moore suggested something different. He thought the English Pouter was a mix of a type of cropper and a "horseman" pigeon. Both of these were common in the 1700s. Because of this link, the English Pouter was sometimes called the Pouting Horseman. Today, many modern cropper pigeons, like the Norwich Cropper, actually came from the English Pouter.
Charles Darwin, a very famous scientist, wrote about the English Pouter in his 1868 book. He said it was "perhaps the most distinct of all domesticated pigeons." This shows how special and different this breed looked even back then!
What Does it Look Like?
Just like all domesticated pigeons, the English Pouter came from the wild rock pigeon (Columba livia). Over many years, people used selective breeding to create its unique look. This means they chose pigeons with certain traits to have babies, making those traits stronger in the next generations.
The English Pouter is a type of fancy pigeon. This means it's a pigeon kept by pigeon fanciers (people who love and raise pigeons) for its looks, not for racing or for food. This breed is known for its long legs and its very large crop. Overall, it has a large body size compared to other pigeons.
See also
In Spanish: Puchero inglés para niños
