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The American Show Racer pigeon (also known as the Show Pen Racer, and nicknamed the "Bird of Dignity.") [1] is a breed of domestic pigeon that began in the early 1950s with the finest Racing Homers, selectively bred for their breed type. [clarification needed] Pigeon historian Wendell Levi mentions Show Pen Racers in his book The Pigeon. [2]
Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance.The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of travel is calculated and compared with all of the other pigeons in the race to determine which animal returned at the highest speed.
These groupings, which can be somewhat arbitrary, are useful mainly in the context of a pigeon show. All the pigeons of all the breeds in the flying/sporting group compete for the best flying/sporting of show which then customarily competes against the best fancy and best utility to pick an overall show champion.
The American Racing Pigeon Union (AU) is a national organization for pigeon racing hobbyists. The organization was founded November 9, 1910, in Washington, D.C., [ 1 ] to centralize regional clubs, establish standardized rules, award cash prizes and promote the racing of homing carrier pigeons .
The on-site library keeps a range of material on pigeons. [6] [11] The museum also operates an aviary, called the World of Wings, [2] which sits across the street from the main building, containing a flock of 200–250 pigeons. Some of the pigeons, many of which are loaned to the museum, are available to be viewed and handled by the public.
There are at least four main types of competitive pigeon sport: Pigeon racing; Tumbling; Highflying; Tippler (Endurance) Though not quite a sport, fancy breeds of pigeons are also bred to standards and judged in a competitive fashion. Levi in his book The Pigeon describes all aspects of pigeon keeping.
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It has been bred into several varieties kept by hobbyists, of which the best known is the homing pigeon or racing homer. [82] Other popular breeds are tumbling pigeons such as the Birmingham roller , and fancy varieties that are bred for certain physical characteristics such as large feathers on the feet or fan-shaped tails.