 |
| Englischer Großkröpfer - Boulant Anglais - English Pouter |
The English Pouter is unmatched in the pigeon world for it's upright station. When posing, an excellent speciman will stand so upright that its eyes will almost line up over the balls of the feet. A well trained show bird will consistantly be strutting and showing off with its globe well flated. When the bird walks and struts it should not waddle, but should carry itself elegantly and proudly with strong high stepping legs with the feet going forward and not sideways. The analogy most often made in describing the perfect manner of walking is to compare it to a prancing horse and is exactly how the bird should appear.
William Bernhardt Tegetmeier proposed that the English Pouter originated from cross breeding the old pigeon breeds the Dutch Cropper, Uploper and the Parisian Pouter. Each of these breeds is described in works dating from the 17th century. However, in an earlier account, John Moore suggested that the breed was the result of cross breeding between a type of cropper and horseman (both 18th century pigeon types). Historically, the English Pouter was also called the Pouting Horseman, due to the links with the Horseman breed. The modern breeds of croppers, such as the Norwich Cropper, originate from the English Pouter. Charles Darwin described the English Pouter in his 1868 work The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, saying that the breed was "perhaps the most distinct of all domesticated pigeons"
