Bizarre and Beautiful Fancy Pigeons

Fantail

These flashy birds are probably the most recognizable and well-known of the fancy pigeons. Their peacock-like tails, prominent chests, and curved necks are a hit in bird shows and fairground livestock shows around the world. They serve more purpose than just flashiness, though. Racing or homing pigeon breeders often keep fantails at the front of the dovecote while they’re training their new prospects. The highly-visible fantails guide the young ones home like a beacon. Some fantail breeds have less erect tail feathers (such as the Garden Fantails) and are much more capable in flight than the Exhibition Fantails. All of them are missing the oil preening gland at the base of their tails though, so they can be prone to cold when they get wet.

 

The Fantail is a popular breed of fancy pigeon.^[1] It is characterised by a fan-shaped tail composed of 30 to 40 feathers, abnormally more than most members of the pigeon family, which usually have 12 to 14 feathers.^[2] The breed is thought to have originated in Pakistan, India, China or Spain. There are several subvarieties, such as the English Fantail, the Indian Fantail, and the Thai Fantail. Charles Darwin used it as one of the examples in the first chapter of On The Origin Of Species.

A Silky Fantail

There is a feather mutation called Silky that gives an interesting lace effect to a Fantails tail feathers.^[1] Fantails with this mutation are known as Silky or Lace Fantails.
Fantails are often used by pigeon flyers in the training of racing pigeons and Tipplers. They are used as droppers in that they are placed on the loft landing board as a signal to the flying birds to come in and be fed.