Liège Pigeon Breeds. Nos amis Liégeois Our friends from Liège. By: Lars Van Droogenbroeck, Pigeon-Judge (Belgium).

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1 Nos amis Liégeois Our friends from Liège Liège Pigeon Breeds Let us begin with the Beauty Homer de Liège. Origin: The Beauty Homer de Liège exists since the eighteenth century in the Liège region and descended from crosses between the extinct Camus (also called flat nose pigeon ) and owl pigeons, high flyers and tumblers. The Beauty Homer de Liège was once used as a racing pigeon and contributed to the development of our worldfamous Belgian racing pigeon. Right: Beauty Homer de Liège blue barless. A very good pigeon in type for this rare colour. Note to the nice head shape and fixed stance. By: Lars Van Droogenbroeck, Pigeon-Judge (Belgium). This article was written with enjoyment and I hope to get you, the reader, acquainted with three of our seventeen Belgian pigeon breeds. What connects these three together? Simply, their origin, being the city of Liège, the capital of the province of Liège in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. This city, situated in the valley of the Meuse River, was in the mid-twentieth century the centre of the mining industry, which brought prosperity to Wallonia. In the city of Liège, at the end of the eighteenth century, early nineteenth century three breeds of pigeons have been created, being the Beauty Homer de Liège, the Barbet of Liège and the Liège Owl and to those three breeds I dedicate this article. I have chosen to discuss each breed in a similar way. First, a brief sketch of their origin / history, then a summary of their overall impression, main characteristics, recognized colours, common faults, etc. Left: The Author, judging pigeons at an outdoor show in a pavilion.

2 Physical Characteristics: The Beauty Homer de Liège is part of the group form pigeons and can be described as a medium-sized homing pigeon of about 450 to 500 grams with a short and compact type. The stance is somewhat upright, only slightly sloping forward. The head is very important and should be broad, full and short, well rounded, with no flat spots, an uninterrupted curved line from the tip of the beak to the back of the neck. The eyes should be orangered and the eye ceres narrow, fine, with a colour in conformity with the feather colour. The beak is rather short and broad, forming a curved, smooth line with the forehead. White coloured for the Whites, black to horn coloured for the other feather colours. Left: Young Beauty Homer de Liège, blue black barred. In this photo you can see the correct underbody and well-rounded breast. Left: Young Beauty Homer de Liège, blue black barred. Already at this young age this pigeon shows a nice breed type and an harmonious rounded head. The neck is short and strong, well defined throat curve. The chest is broad, well-muscled and well rounded. The back is short, well covered and with broad shoulders. The wings must be strong and well developed, closed well to the body. The tail is not too long, narrow, tightly closed, and in line with the back, resting on the tail without touching the ground. Legs are short and smooth with straight, strong and not too long toes. The nail colour in conformity with the feather colour. Feathers tight and smooth. Colours: The Beauty Homer de Liège is recognised in: blue, black, red (dominant), ash red barred (creamy) and their diluted colours; barred, barless, chequer and dark checker (T pattern); all grizzles; white and dark or light tigered in black and blue. The lower back is always uni coloured. The best quality is seen in the Blues and Silvers, but other colour varieties are also definitely on the rise. In recent years, there are a few breeders who specialized in mealy and creamy as well as in the barless varieties. Right: Young Beauty Homer de Liège, ash red barless. So far looking at the youngster it is looking well, a promising pigeon, especially for such a rare colour variety! Faults: Things we don t want in the Beauty Homer de Liège are too light or too heavy birds. A Beauty Homer de Liège certainly should not be long bodied, or have a narrow breast or a too long head. The beak should not be too long or have a large coarse wattles.

3 Also coarse eye ceres are not wanted, although old cocks often do have them. Broken eyes or two different eye colours are a fault, also red tinted eye ceres, any traces of a frill, split feathering in the breast, two coloured on the rump, white nail(s) except for the Whites. Left: A pair of Beauty Homers de Liège in their breeding compartment. A blue blackbar male and a silver dark barred female Both birds have good body type and filled heads. Note the two perfect wing bars of the male bird in the front. Characteristics: The Beauty Homer de Liège is a very alert and vital pigeon. They will easily rear several rounds per year. You should pay attention though that their beaks are not getting to short or narrow, which will give problems with feeding the young at a certain age. When they are allowed to free fly, they will eagerly enjoy the opportunity. Status: Mainly bred in Wallonia, but also in Flanders more and more Beauty Homer de Liège are seen in excellent quality! We will continue with its brother, the Barbet of Liège. Right: Barbet of Liège, blue black barred. The bird in the picture shows the required breed type with a well developed frill. Here we should watch out for too much backskull at the back of the head. Origin: The Barbet of Liège has is beginnings in the 19 th century in the Liège region and descended from crosses between the extinct Camus and an Owl Pigeon. It is not clearly stated which Owl breed this was. There is a chance this was the Old German Owl, but also the French Owl, Italian Owl and even the Liège Owl stand a chance... In those years, the Barbet of Liège was used by the Liège pigeon keepers as a homing pigeon, but the flying type was not maintained. The Barbet of Liège is closely related to and comparable to the Beauty Homer de Liège; the only difference is the frill. Left: A blue blackbar Barbet of Liège in the nest bowl. Physical Characteristics: The Barbet of Liège belongs to the Owl Pigeon breeds, but different from the other Belgian Owl Pigeon

4 breeds, it is not a shield owl variety. It is a medium size Owl Pigeon, short and compact with slightly sloping carriage and with a well developed frill. The head is well rounded and broad. The head profile is an unbroken curve from the top of the head to the beak tip without any break. The highest point is right above the eye. The eye colour is orange-red, the eye ceres should be very fine, sometimes with only few irregularities, the cere colour is in conformity with the feather colour. The beak is short and strong, forming a curved, smooth line with the forehead. Right: An ash red barred Barbet of Liège, with a very good head, frill, colour and marking. Although the bird could stand better in this picture. White coloured for the Whites, black to horn coloured for the other feather colours. The nose wattles are broad but not protruding. The neck is rather short, widening to the base, with a clear, distinct, slightly curved throat. (Certainly not a dewlap) and not forgetting, a well formed Jabot (chest frill). The breast is very broad and well rounded, and protruding. The back is short and well covered by the strong wings that are well closed with wide flights full feathered back wing. The tail is well closed, carried in line with the back and held clear of the floor. The legs are fairly short, smooth, carmine red, with strong, straight, not too long toes. The nail colour is in conformity with the feather colour. The Barbet of Liège has opulent feathering, but tight and smooth. Above: Two ash red barred young Barbet of Lièges in the nest bowl. Right: An ash red dark barred Barbet of Liège. Already as a young bird, this pigeon showed a very good stance, fine rounded head with a broad frontal. The throat could be curved a little better. Colours: The Barbet of Liège is recognised in: blue, black, red (dominant), ash red barred (creamy) and their diluted colours; barred, barless, chequer and dark checker (T pattern); all grizzles; white and dark or light tigered in black and blue. The lower back is always single coloured. Faults: What can go wrong in the Barbet of Liège? Well, the following things we consider

5 as being a fault: too long, narrow body, wide tail, too flat or too narrow skull, narrow frontal, too long in beak, broken eyes or two different coloured eyes, red eye ceres and feather parting below the throat. Also the Barbet of Liège should not have a dewlap or a two-coloured lower rump or white nails (except in the White). Left: Barbet of Liège, silver dark barred. Perfect skull line and width in the forehead. Very good Jabot (frill), and a well rounded breast, in particular as this is a hen. Watch out for getting a break in the feathering under the throat. Right: Head study of a Barbet of Liège well-formed jabot. When standing correctly in the cage, the point of the beak is hidden in the frill feathers. Characteristics: The Barbet of Liège is a good parent bird, as long as we keep an eye on the beak of the parents not becoming too short and broad. When the beaks are too short, the parent birds will stop feeding their young when these are two weeks old. That is why some fanciers prefer to have the young reared by foster parents. (For instance, the Belgium homer pigeon), although I would go for a selection on the parent birds that can rear their own young without problems. But due to crossing of the Beauty Homer de Liège there are presently Barbets with a small jabot and also a broader and shorter body, which causes a bad wing covering of the back. If the Barbet of Liège is allowed to free fly they will be happy to fly around the loft all day. Status: Only recently the Barbet of Liège was listed as a rare pigeon, but lately we have noticed a positive evolution with several enthusiastic breeders in Wallonia, and now also in Flanders. This has already resulted in a class of 40 birds at the show, in a great number of colour varieties. Another positive step for the breed was the founding of a specialty club for the Barbet of Liège in This Club is also partly responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the breed in Europe. Left: A Barbet of Liège, dominant red hen in the nest bowl.

6 The last of the three breeds is the Liège Owl. Origin: Our Belgian Owl pigeons are thought to be of Eastern origin and known since the 15th century. During the 19th century at the start of the pigeon sport, the French Owl was crossed with the now extinct - Camus pigeon, and this resulted in a coveted flying pigeon, the Liège Owl. The Liège Owl is closely related to the Antwerp Smerle, the latter however has undergone a real metamorphosis, while the Liège Owl kept the flying type. Right: A Liège Owl, black shield. A very good breed representative for this very rare colour variety in the Liège Owl. Note the good width of the forehead. Physical Characteristics: The Liège Owl is a white Shield Owl, meaning, a white bird with a coloured wing shield. It is a rather small pigeon weighing only 400 grams. The Jabot (frill) has to be long and full. The Liège Owl is relatively short in type, but still looks a bit longer than the Barbet of Liège, because it is less sturdy build. The body posture is almost horizontal. The head is longish, rounded with a medium size pinkish beak of about 18 mm. The throat is well curved. The head profile is an unbroken curve from the top of the head to the beak tip without any break. The eyes are dark with fine, smooth, pale eye ceres. The neck is of medium length, strong at the base. The breast is broad and protruding. The beak is short, well covered and only slightly sloping. The wings are of normal width, tight and well covering the back. The wing tips are carried on the tail and must not cross. The tail is short to medium length, well closed and carried horizontal. The legs are rather short, clean and red coloured with flesh colour nails. The feathering is tight and smooth. Below: A pair of Liège Owl (red shield and yellow shield) in the breeding compartment near the nest bowl.

7 Left: A red shield Liège Owl. Below: A yellow shield Liège Owl. This hen was awarded the max 97 points at the Club Show for Belgian Pigeon Breeds in Oud-Heverlee. The bird is especially judged excellent because of the intensity of its coloured wing shields. It could stand a little better in this photo. In recent years, the breeders are working mainly on the improvement of the type, which means that often many pigeons kept in the loft are without the correct marking, which is then, in turn, shown up in the offspring. Through crossing-in the French Owl, most of the present Liège Owl have a good head form and by the Aachen Lacquershield the colour has become more intense in recent years, but apart from these desired characteristics, the two breeds also have passed on a dewlap, which in turn is not wanted and should be strictly selected out! Left: Liège owl, red shield. Very good breed representative with an outstanding type and perfect head profile. Colours: About colour and marking I would like to explain that only the wing-shield is coloured, although some colour behind the legs is tolerated. At least 7 primaries have to be white ( equal number in both wings). The thumb feathers don t have to be coloured, althoug it is a plus if they are. Starting from the coming Show season , having a coloured feather within the 7 outer primaries is no longer tolerated. This holds for all Belgian Shield Owls. Recognised colours are: In barless: black, dun, brown, red, yellow, blue

8 and silver. In barred and chequer: blue, silver, ash red, ash yellow and brown. Recognised colour varieties in barred and laced are: black, red, yellow, blue and brown. Above: The three pigeon breeds of Liège together at the feeder. Faults: Concerning the colours; having less than 7 white primaries is a serious fault, also having a coloured primary between the whites. Further the known colour and marking faults. The Liège Owl should not be too heavy in weight, too long or narrow and not have a sloping carriage. Faults concerning the head: not correct head profile, too coarse, too narrow or pointed head, forehead too round or a break in the curve of the head profile; flat skull; a too short, too long or weak beak, or not correct beak setting, also a thin under beak or colour spots appearing in the beak are a fault. Furthermore having a dewlap, no jabot, wrong eye colour, too red eye ceres and feathered legs are a fault. Characteristics: De Liège Owl is a very good parent bird and may rear a pair of young every five weeks. The feeding of the young goes without problems, also because of their medium long beak and less broad head. Apart from that, the Liège Owl is very easy to handle, far from aggressive. When offered free flight, they also like touring a few daily laps over the loft. Concerning showing the bird, the Liège Owl will take little more conditioning than the other two Liège pigeon breeds. Perfectly marked birds are very rare (read: they don t excist), so it is important to condition your show birds, meaning, clipping off the false coloured feathers assuming these are only a few. Status: Lately, the Liège Owl is truly becoming a show breed and can be admired at almost every pigeon show here in Belgium; thanks to several

9 enthousiastic breeders in both Flanders and Wallonia. However, outside Belgium the Liège Owl is hardly known. I think this is because each country has its own Shield Owl breed (Old Dutch Owl, Old German Owl, French Owl, etc.) Above: The author, Lars Van Droogenbroeck, standing in front of his lofts and aviary with, of course, all 3 Liège pigeon breeds. I have been a pigeon fancier for several years now and I am a great fan of the three Liège pigeon breeds. These are three very pretty pigeon breeds, which are easy to breed and do not require special care. They are suitable to free fly and are real show birds that are full of pride and nobility; they will show their best in the show pen and may even win a prize for their keeper. I hope that I could get you interested in our breeds with this article, and if there are some in the future that ask you for a Belgian pigeon breed, then do not forget to recommend our friends of Liège. Unknown is unloved, but at least now you know some more about these pretty breeds. Lars Van Droogenbroeck Pigeon Judge (Belgium) lars.vandroogenbroeck@skynet.be Copyright 2014 All rights reserved by the Aviculture-Europe Foundation. This is a publication by the online magazine English edition ISSN: You are not allowed to copy, distribute, send or publish these texts or photos without our prior permission in writing.