"The must-have guide for anyone passionate about keeping, breeding or racing pigeons." -- Cover

Racing Pigeons: A Manual describes the historical use of homing pigeons for communications and is a manual for the pigeon racing sport. Descended from the wild Blue Rock dove, homing pigeons have been highly valued since ancient times for sending messages in times of peace and war. Today's homing pigeons have been bred to perform better than ever. Pigeon racing has developed into a worldwide hobby and is the national sport of Belgium. In 2013, a champion Belgian pigeon was sold for $400,000. Some pigeon races offer a million dollars in prize money but it can also be a hobby for ordinary folks who raise pedigreed pigeons and fly them for pleasure. This book explains how pigeon racing can be enjoyable and affordable with information on getting started, instructions for establishing a loft, breeding and training programs, and details about pigeon racing on a modest budget. The author has over fifty years of experience with racing pigeons, raising them, importing and exporting them, and winning races in international competition. In our fast paced electronic and impersonal age, homing pigeons can be a relaxing, challenging and rewarding family activity, appealing to people of all backgrounds. The author mentions some celebrities who have been homing pigeon fanciers. Pigeon racing in an under-publicized activity in America. Racing Pigeons: A Manual unveils this unique hobby and sport.

This vintage book contains a comprehensive guide to racing pigeons, with information on breeding, pigeon types, notable historical fanciers, housing, nutrition, and much more. “The Sport Of Pigeon Racing” is highly recommended for those with a serious interest in the sport, and is not to be missed by collectors of vintage literature of this ilk. Contents include: “Pigeon Racing”, “The Armadale Lofts”, “My First Visit to Belgium”, “Leading Belgian Fanciers”, “English Fanciers I Have known and Visited”, “A Method of Founding a Loft of Racing Pigeons”, “Notes on Racing Pigeon Types with Special Reference to Superficial Anatomy”, et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing this vintage book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on pigeons.

"Pigeons and man enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship dating back to Ancient Egypt and beyond. The birds have served their human keepers as messengers, companions, and extraordinary athletes. They have delivered messages that turned the tide of financial affairs and diverted the course of war. Some birds have even been decorated for their battlefield heroism. Pigeon racing calls upon the birds' remarkable homing abilities, speed, and endurance. These impressive abilities are refined through selective breeding and progressive training programs that become a consuming pastime for pigeon 'fanciers.' Pigeon Racing offers a broad-based introduction to pigeon husbandry, health, breeding, and competition for the novice enthusiast ... The text includes information on loft design and outfitting, common health problems, and basic training. It explores race formats and administration and explains the intricacies of timing. The extensive glossary serves as an introduction to the pigeon-racing vernacular. Racing pigeons are not the feral birds you see perched on power lines and rooftops. They are marathon fliers, relying on their innate sense of direction and heart to achieve remarkable results."--Publisher's description.

Deep into Sport - Hand Bird Selection is a 94 pages, Full coloured interior, Paperback edition . It is the most in detail book regarding the physical description of the Champion racer bird, how a bird should look and feel in the hand, what are the characteristics that make him different from other birds. In every race there willl be on e single winner the best trained, best motivated, best fed, and above all the best in body characteristics. If you have ever asked yourself how can we make the difference between the champion bird and the average ones this book will teach in depth just that.Over 30 colour images are presented to teach you the right pattern your hands must follow and what you must feel when holding an excellent bird in your hands . The following chapters will teach you everything you must know when assessing a bird in the hand from A to Z . 1).The Tail 2).The Rump 3).The Skeleton 4).The Wing Muscles 5). The Feathering 6).The Feet 7).The Neck and Head 8).The Eyes 9).More From The Author

A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 'Rich and joyous ...The book's quiet optimism about our ability to change, and to learn to love small things passionately, will stay with me for a long time' Helen Macdonald 'Big-hearted and quietly gripping' Guardian 'I love Jon Day's writing and his birds. A marvellous, soaring account' Olivia Laing '[A] beautiful book about unbeautiful birds' Observer 'This is nature writing at its best' Financial Times 'Awash with historical and literary detail, and moving moments ... Wonderful' Telegraph 'Every page of this beautifully written book brought me pleasure' Charlotte Higgins 'A vivid evocation of a remarkable species and a rich working-class tradition. It's also a charming defence of a much-maligned bird, which will make any reader look at our cooing, waddling, junk-food-loving feathered friends very differently in future' Daily Mail 'Endlessly interesting and dazzlingly erudite, this wonderful book will make a home for itself in your heart' Prospect As a boy, Jon Day was fascinated by pigeons, which he used to rescue from the streets of London. Twenty years later he moved away from the city centre to the suburbs to start a family. But in moving house, he began to lose a sense of what it meant to feel at home. Returning to his childhood obsession with the birds, he built a coop in his garden and joined a local pigeon racing club. Over the next few years, as he made a home with his young family in Leyton, he learned to train and race his pigeons, hoping that they might teach him to feel homed. Having lived closely with humans for tens of thousands of years, pigeons have become powerful symbols of peace and domesticity. But they are also much-maligned, and nowadays most people think of these birds, if they do so at all, as vermin. A book about the overlooked beauty of this species, and about what it means to dwell, Homing delves into the curious world of pigeon fancying, explores the scientific mysteries of animal homing, and traces the cultural, political and philosophical meanings of home. It is a book about the making of home and making for home: a book about why we return.