The Old German Owl (Pigeon)

For some unknown reasons (scientists think it might be because of their big, creepy eyes), pigeons do not like to associate themselves with owls. Many people have even made use of owl decoys to scare away pigeons out of their properties. However, no matter how odd it might sound, there are some pigeons which are actually called owls! Of the most popular ones are the Old German Owls. In no do these birds look like owls, in fact, they look more like doves; they are small and would practically fit in an adult's hand. They are also very friendly and tame, these traits make them easy to breed and reproduce. Most people keep these birds simply because they are fun to own; they are cheerful and sensitive, most importantly, they are very good "parents" -- they are capable of taking care of the young of other pigeons apart from their own children.

Apart from all the characteristics mentioned, these birds are also known because of their energetic demeanour. They can be trained to do acrobatics and will not mind to perform in public. They can twirl and swirl, they are also do some other tricks depending on the extent that they are taught. Moreover, their beautiful plumage makes their bodies very visible while they are on air doing the tricks. This adds to the fun element of watching birds do terrific moved while on flight. Most Old German Owl keepers allow their birds to freely roam around their yard because just like other pigeons, these birds also have very strong homing characteristics (they can find their way back into their homes no matter how unfamiliar their new location is).

Bird Distribution

These birds became known as "old" because there is a pigeon specie that looks like them and are called like them (only without the "old" prefix), they are the German Owls. The distinction was placed in order to determine which birds where introduced in the 1800s and in the 1900s. The "alteration" of the birds happened after they cross-bred with the Anatolian Owls and the Oriental Frills from Germany. Their offspring developed a certain level of distinctness from the original German owls and so in the early 1900s, the prefix "old" was added and the name "German Owl" was then used to refer to the birds that have evolved from the mating of the German Owls and the other birds brought during the 1870s. Nevertheless, it was only in 1956 that the government showed active participation is preserving the original German Owl breeds. Since then, the two birds have reached a very stable level of population, and each breed has been treated as distinct and separate from the other.

In addition, these birds (both the old and the new ones) have long been acknowledged by the United States government as an important entity that needs to be protected by the state. They are listed in the "National Pigeon Association's Encyclopaedia" as one of the more sought-after pigeon breeds in the world. However, the new breed of German Owls were the first ones to be recorded by the association that many people used to believe that the "old German Owls" are actually the new breed and the German Owl breeds are the first ones to exist. Well, this error has long been corrected by many people who have interest on pigeons, it is really just up to the reader of this post to choose which side will he/she take.

Bird Description

(c) mypage.uniserve.ca

Although it has been argued that the Old German Owl is an "old" breed, somehow it can be considered as a "new" one. Beyond this, we know that these birds have already made it big about 40 years ago when popular animal magazines and news channels have started to make a fuss about these birds. Eventually, these birds became so rare in the United States that some dealers are able to sell each of these birds by $150 each, not to mention that these birds actually need companion in order to stay active and alive. That means that anyone who wishes to own a German owl should invest at least $300 on a pair of pigeons.

If we look closely to the German Pigeons, we will realize that not all of them look the same. This is because there are 3 varieties of German Pigeons that are known to us. Overall, about 19 different types of colors and shades have been recorded to be exhibited by these birds.

The three varieties can be distinguished through their marks; the three marks are called shield-marked, self-colored and tail-marked. These three are mere general labels and the different appearances of these marks simply fall under these general descriptions.

Most Old German Owls have the same size as that of ordinary field pigeons, but the latter have less broad breasts and their tails are not as pointed as the first one. Old German Owls have wings which are snugged into their bodies. Their legs are also relatively shorted that that of the field pigeons and they also have shorted necks. Moreover, the German Owls have excess feathers around their neck and head areas. Scientist argues that these excess features may have been used to support the bird's neck.

Up-close, it can also be observed that the German Owls have very big and dark eyes which are surrounded with cares which can be liken to human eye bags (although they are extremely different). These excessive feathers around the neck are also called the Shell Crest. Now, many other pigeon birds may not be getting the proper attention that they need, thus better watch out for my future posts as well as my posts from the past to get good insights as to how these birds should be raised.

The German Owls are not the only ones which were called owls instead of being called pigeons. There's the European Owl, the Spanish Owl and so many other pigeon species. Scroll down into the archive section of these blog to learn more about pigeons.