THE ART OF BREEDING

by Prof. Alfons Anker & Steven van Breemen

The Eye

The most appealing part of a pigeon's face is the eye. From the time people started to
breed pigeons, much has been said and written about the subject of the eye. And the
opinions have differed widely, often contradicting each other. Today there is still a wide
range of views around. We find them in our own country as well as in foreign magazines.
Quite a few authors hold onto the opinion that all that's to be read in a pigeon's eye is its
physical condition. Others, (especially English) claim that by looking at a pigeon's eye
they are able to discover the most incredible things. In this article I'm going to describe
for you those factors which are most essential when judging the eye. My knowledge
comes from studying the international pigeon literature, as well as from 20 years of
intensive, personal observations during my career as a fancier, and I believe it to be
accurate.
When you are evaluating a pigeon's eye, of importance are: the size of the pupil, the
richness in color, the surface area of the iris and its pigmentation, the overall expression
in the eye, and the "Vermeyen-ring."
The size of the pupil is related to the nervous system and to the bird's willpower. Watch
out for those pigeons that have large pupils. An increase in the size of the pupil means a
decrease in the ability of such a bird to finish difficult, non-stop races, races in which
much is being asked of the birds. They haven't got enough "fighting spirit" and without
that they aren't able to achieve much. As long as I've been keeping pigeons, I've never
seen champion birds with large pupils. On the shorter distance pigeon stock the size of
the pupil is not of as much importance because here the pigeons aren't forced to use up
the last bit of reserve strength left in their bodies.
Piet de Weerd once made the following, very truthful observation: "we aren't interested in
small pupils as such, but in the factors causing them to be small. As these are closely
related to willpower."
I've never held a pigeon in my hand and not looked it deep and intense in the eye. This
long standing experience has taught me to be cautious of pigeons whose pupils react fast
to changes in light. I'm looking for pigeons with pupils that, even in semi darkness, are
smaller than those of other birds. I don't agree with the much published opinion that in
good quality pigeons the pupils react quite noticeable to light and dark. On the other
hand, pigeons with pupils that do not change at all under different lighting conditions, but
always stay the same size, to me are absolutely useless for breeding as well as for racing.
I'm not going so far as to say that exceptions aren't possible, once in a while they do
happen, but the ratio is less than 1 of 500, so gambling on that is not something I would
recommend.
Race after race, the birds with no expression in their eyes disappear until finally in the
biggest races only the birds with the richly colored, clear eyes are left. ( these colorless
eyes would be those with a wide circle of correlation (Barkel's) and only suited for the
short distance races. Ed. ) Also, when you visit the nation wide exhibitions you'll find
birds with non-descript eyes among the speed pigeons, but never will you find them
among the matadors!
When asking some of the big names in the pigeon sport their opinion; men as Jan Aerts,
Piet de Weerd and John Lambrechts, the response is always that they like full color.
That's also what I look for in pigeons, because I share their opinion, an opinion which is
based on years of intensive research.
When judging the quality of a pigeon, the next important measuring scale is the color of
the iris. The iris is the colored ring between the pupil and the cornea. Sometimes you may
notice a thin, black ring which separates the iris from the cornea. The ring has been
named after Louis Vermeyen: the Vermeyen ring, and it is very noticeable in the younger
birds. It has never been sufficiently proven if a pallid or a vividly colored eye is either
good or bad. But I've never disguised my opinion: I prefer a richly colored eye. The color
of the eye and the richness of that color depend upon pigmentation. Of course, I'm not
saying that everything is subject to eye color, but good color is a positive sign.
The German author W. Scheer writes: "It is always of considerable interest to observe the
pigeons in their baskets. At the first race you'll find all types of eyes. But slowly as the
races get more difficult the less colored eyes disappear." For years I've always taken
every opportunity offered to examine the very best pigeons and I've concluded, contrary
to what others say or write; good quality pigeons always have eyes that are exceptionally
rich in color. It doesn't matter if within the iris different colors are well divided or not.
Neither is it important, or is it desired that the colors are present in regular rings. The iris
may show all different color variations as long as the colors are deep, starting from the
very inner circumference up to the outside border. What I really appreciate are eyes with
many colors blended together as if an artist took all the leftover paint on his palette and
painted the iris with it. I read this illustration somewhere and thought it to be very fitting.
A few of my pigeons who looked as this were "De Oude Kapoen"(son of "De Kapoen" of
Desmet-Matthijs) and "De 08 Duif" of Jan van Erp. Both of them produced such
wonderful off-spring, even when mated together; I'm sure that for many years to come
these will bring me much satisfaction.
Pigeons that have white eyes, speckled with colorless grains of pigment can be just as
valuable as those who have yellow or brown eyes. Then there are those pigeons whose
eyes have little pigment or none at all. They appear to be completely black. Eyes like that
belonged to the world famous "Jonge Stier", a pigeon who made his boss André Van
Bruane a legend in a very short time. As I have stated before, the color of the eye is
mostly the result of pigmentation. To have plenty of pigment is a positive characteristic.
We prefer our pigeons to have full, deep colored eyes.
Besides the color of the eye, an even more valuable tool for judging the performance
possibilities in a pigeon is the blood supply to the eye. This is because it is closely related
to the components which determine the abilities to achieve and this again allows you to
draw certain conclusions which are relative to the general characteristics of a certain
pigeon.
The first one to do research on this subject was Dorn and Cohrs. By way of tissue
analysis, they concluded that small grains of pigment, lying closely together, and filmy
thin supple cell tissue, are characteristic for the outside surface of the iris. An
uncountable amount of microscopic size capillaries are found among those and the
usually seem to conglomerate in the outer zone of the iris. Lying closely together they
find themselves a way to the surface between the grains of pigment making the surface of
the iris appear a little granular. (are these parts of the "breeding grooves" of Josef
Hofmann? Ed.)
When you inspect a pigeon's eye in direct sunlight, pointing the beak towards the sun, it
is possible to detect this phenomenon with your bare eyes. The rougher the surface of this
iris appears, the more capillaries will be present in the eye, which again points to a pigeon
with a better blood supply.
The granulation of the surface of the iris should be of an even thickness, starting at the
inner edge beside the pupil, up to the outer edge.
For years, I've noticed this to be the case in the majority of my own superstars and I've
detected it also in the favorites in the other lofts. Without any hesitation I would say that
at least 80% of all the top class pigeons have completely granulated eyes, while no more
than 20% of very good pigeons have eyes with a lesser granular surface.
I feel urged to add a cautious note to the previous paragraph: in the pigeon sport you will
never find absolute truths. A pigeon will never become a first class bird if wonderful eyes
are his only feature, or willpower, or muscle quality. Rather, a good pigeon has to rate
exceptionally high on at least five or six of the most important characteristics.
You may use certain percentages as a guideline to the importance of a specific
characteristic. These percentages are based on the frequency such a characteristic is
found in top class pigeons. Finding a fully granulated iris in about 80% of the high
quality pigeons then means that this factor is an important link in the chain of
'achievement characteristics'. The other extra qualities may also be present without this
factor, but the probability of that is only 20% While selecting his birds, a realistic fancier
prefers to make sure of a sign that offers him a four times larger chance of success. Only
in exceptional cases will he trust signs which are less promising. One of the reasons for
this is that often there is not enough room in the loft. When considering pigeons with
large pupils, you only have, a one half of one percent, chance of success. While eyes
without color, or not enough granulation give you no more than a 20% chance. We are
always bound by the limited amount of space available in our lofts, which means we can't
keep every pigeon. Common sense tells us that to have the best possible chance of being
successful in the future, we should only keep pigeons with characteristics that have a
positive effect on the ability to achieve.
Besides the granular surface of the iris, the red color in the eye is another indication of an
ample blood supply to the eye. The red color in the eye isn't caused by pigmentation, but
comes from the very thin capillaries that force themselves to the surface of the iris by
pushing aside the grains of pigment and giving the yellow ones a reddish tint. It's no more
than logical, that the coloring of the eye, the granulation and the blood supply, shouldn't
only be found in the thin layer on the outer surface of the eye. They should be present
throughout the entire colored section of the eye.
The rate of blood supply to the eyes, which we measure by looking at the granulation and
the amount of red color, is extremely important because it gives us a clear indication of
how the blood supply is to the rest of the body. When the blood supply to the eye is
excellent, it is very unlikely that it is inadequate to the other parts of the body.
One of the basic elements needed for the ability to achieve is: vitality. Vitality in a
pigeon, in a way, is similar to the bird being in top form. Pigeons, with much vitality, will
year after year, day after day, look the same as an ordinary racing pigeon does when it is
in top condition. To obtain high ratings in vitality and general condition a pigeon's body
needs a blood supply that is consistently higher than that of the average bird.
An increase in blood supply improves the form, a decrease does the opposite. Therefore,
it is safe to state that the important ingredient in pigeons which are consistently high in
vitality, is their excellent blood supply system. When we are able to conclude from
granulation and the color of the eyes that an above average blood supplies is present, we
can at the same time assume that this is true for the rest of the bird's body. Such pigeons
give us a much better than average chance to succeed. It sometimes happens, for a certain
period of time, the color of the eyes may fade significantly in pigeons who either are
under stress, or who recently had to perform a strenuous task. The sparkle disappears,
showing that the entire organism is over tired, and as a consequence, the blood supply has
dwindled down to the bare minimum. Pigeons, who have as a characteristic a poor blood
supply system, are unable to perform well, except when they race the easy, short distance
races. These are races in which they don't have to draw from their reserves.
Many pigeons, with poorly colored eyes, are found among one of the world most famous,
strongly inbred 'speediness' the Janssen-pigeons. This is possible because in general,
fanciers in the Janssen pigeon's home ground, Europe, basked these birds only for races
of 100 to 200 miles. The important factors for these distances are speed, the mordant or
fighting spirit, and intelligence. Since these races usually last no longer than two to four
hours, the characteristics of endurance and long term performance capacity, matters
which are closely connected to the blood supply, play no significant role.
Something we haven't discussed, as of earlier is the 'servile-lance' ring. The 'surveillance',
or circle of correlation(eye-sign) is a colorless, or black, semi or whole circle, located
directly between the iris and the pupil. In the past, as well as in the present, there are
fanciers who consider the size, and the shape, of this circle to be of the utmost
importance.
These same fanciers claim to be able to draw the most fantastic conclusions from this
circle of correlation. At the same time, there are also fanciers who consider this circle to
be of no importance at all. There is a general consensus among the most re-renowned
fanciers in Belgium and Holland that pigeons with a complete correlation or 'surveillance'
circle are better suited for breeding than for racing, and it would be advisable for every
fancier to have a few of these birds in their loft.
For over 25 years, I have kept records of all the important features of my pigeons. I've
made a list of the names of all my pigeons who had a complete correlation ring. I've kept
up-to-date with the breeding- and racing values of these birds over a long period of time,
and have come to the conclusion that many of my better racers and breeders are in the
possession of a complete and wide correlation circle. However, among my favorites there
are also many who show only a partial correlation circle, or none at all. Among those
with a complete circle are many good racers, but they are less convincing as breeders.
And there were even those who were completely useless. From all this I've come to the
conclusion that the correlation circle isn't that important, neither for racing, nor for
breeding.
And that makes sense! Because you wouldn't expect that something as important as the
ability to achieve, which in itself again depends on so many different factors, would make
itself known in such a small and insignificant sign as this circle. Maybe, all this will be of
some consolation to all the fanciers who have but a limited knowledge of how important
characteristics are genetically transmitted.
Another, characteristic of a racing pigeon's eye is the so-called 'Vermeyen ring'.
Vermeyen of Antwerp, was one of the Belgium grand masters of the pigeon sport, and he
was the first one to call attention to the ring. The Vermeyen ring is a small black ring,
separating the colored part of the eye from the cornea, which has no color. The best way
to observe this ring is by looking at the eyes of young, dark eyed pigeons, while holding
them in the light. In mature pigeons the intensity of the ring's color is one of the best
measuring tools for determine form.
A close to perfect system of blood supply results in birds that easily reach top form. At
the same time this perfect blood supply system makes the Vermeyen ring change from its
normal gray color to a deeper black. The color of the ring becomes a reliable aid in
evaluating the overall condition of the pigeon during the entire racing season.
In conclusion, here is one more feature of the eyes: when we look a pigeon straight in the
face with our eye level, parallel to the bird's beak, we can see both eyes fully. When the
eyes and the face together give you the impression of an owl's face, most often you're
dealing with some of the smartest pigeons in the loft. And I challenge you to test this
feature for accuracy in your own loft.