Troy Shantz
The judge paces back and forth, eyeing a row of cages, making observations.
John DeCarlo Jr. has come from California to Sarnia to examine some of the finest fancy pigeons around.
A lump of tobacco wedged in his cheek, the president of the U.S. National Pigeon Association notes the wings of one, points out feathers on another.
The assembled breeders and owners are on the edge of their folding seats, hanging on every word.
DeCarlo selects the winners and spits in a cup. Assistants in lab coats decorated with club patches whisk away the birds that don’t make the grade.
“It’s really about competitiveness,” explained Gary Parsons, president of the Sarnia Pigeon, Poultry and Pet Stock Association.
The small but active club hosts an international pigeon show each year, one that draws breeders from across Canada and the U.S.
It’s the feathered equivalent of classic dog or cat show competition, Parsons said.
The last one in December at DeGroot’s Nurseries showcased more than 700 decorative birds with fancy breed names like Jacobins, fantails and trumpeters.
Unlike racing pigeons, fancy pigeons are raised exclusively for their exotic looks, with the desired characteristics of ideal specimens delineated in the Encyclopedia of Pigeon Standards.
Parsons keeps 40 in a backyard coop, where he enjoys watching them go about their business.
“I just love looking at the birds,” he said.
DID YOU KNOW?
* Pigeons are the world’s oldest domesticated bird. Domestication, noted in Egyptian hieroglyphics, may have occurred as early as 10,000 years ago, research suggests.
* Pigeon navigation is equally mysterious and amazing. Trained homing pigeon have flown home from 1,000 kilometres away, even when transported, covered, in isolation and their cages rotated.
* Sports fan in ancient Greece reportedly used pigeons to spread the news from the Olympic games, and Genghis Khan had a pigeon-based postal network to stay in touch.
* Combating nations used large numbers of pigeons during both World Wars. France awarded a medal, the Croix de Guerre, to one bird named Cher Ami, which completed a 1918 mission that led to the rescue of 194 U.S. soldiers.