The last of the Swiss Individual breeds is the St. Gailer Wing Pigeon (FlŸgeltaube)
No German figures for this relatively new and rare breed.
Apart from the Swiss Cropper, the youngest of the Swiss breeds, recognised in 1970 in the Canton of St. Galien, bred from Peak-Crested Swiss and German Wing Pigeons (FlŸgeltauben), the description is of a 'well built, long caste, elegant Field Pigeon type with peak crest'.
It is slightly larger and more substantially built than the Swiss Self, Berner or Thurgauer breeds but still has the elegant and very typical head 'shape' of those breeds, the ground colour is white with FlŸgeltauben (Wing Pigeon) markings, that is, the entire wing including flights (primaries) coloured with a coloured 'forehead' spot or 'Snip' that starts on the base of the beak-cere, ideally the middle third of the beak-cere and certainly not extending to the beak corners, and forms a 'pear-shaped' 'spot' on the forehead reaching back to 'above' the middle of the eye. This 'snip' should ideally be no more than half as wide again as the spot 'base' at its widest point.
The upper beak is dark in black and blue birds progressing through dark horn colour to light horn for the other colours, the under beak should always be flesh colour.
The breed comes in several recognised colours including white bar and chequered, the 'Glanze' colours ie black, red, yellow, very rich and with an intensive sheen.
Ring Size: 8
Now I will do the Berners (from Berne!).
The Swiss Berner Group
This Group has six members, including two very old breeds one of which is something of an 'oddity' for although it has the peak crest often associated with the 'Swiss' Pigeon, there the similarity ends!
First the . . .
Berner Gugger
No German census figures for this ancient Swiss breed that dates from before the 1500s but it is rare, even in Switzerland.
The name means 'Cuckoo' in dialect, and describes the colour, the Gugger follows the form associated with the Swiss Self, being elegant with very clean lines, a high rounded forehead and high sharp edged peak crest, dark brown eyes and medium narrow beak, the legs are unfeathered.
It comes in one colour only, blue, with black chequered wing shields, either with a white tail or coloured tail, the markings are unusual and of ancient origin, best described a a 'modified' blue schimmel (grizzle) that gives the impression of the European Migrant Cuckoo species. The description goes 'ground colour blue, the wing shields with even black chequering from the tip of the peak crest, sweeping down the sides of the neck and increasing in width meeting like a collar in the mid-throat area should be a band of fine white flecking (the Cuckoo marking). On the forehead starting at the beak cere is a white snip or forehead spot, the blue ground colour covers most of the face and forms a 'bib' under the lower beak, the depth of the bib should be no lower than the tip of the bird's beak when pressed on to the throat.
The White Tail variant has the tail and under-tail coverts white, altogether an attractive and unusual colouration.
Ring Size: 8
Berner Half-Beak (HalbschnŠbler)
No census figures, this is the Swiss 'oddity'! A big powerfuly built pigeon, its history reaches back to the Turkish annexation of Switzerland and surrounding countries, in fact one of its old names was 'Turkish Pigeon', another early name was 'Griss'. The Breed was 'resurrected' in the middle of the 1800s.
The breed gets its name now from its beak colour difference, upper pale, lower beak black or at least pigmented (or horn colour in reds). Like many Swiss breeds it has a high, almost 'curling' peak crest, after that forget everything else you have read about 'Swiss' breeds! It is large and powerful (size 9 ring), the head has a distinct rounded forehead but very 'wild' pigeon shape, the eyes are orange/red surrounded by a fairly broad and well-developed intensive red eye cere, the beak is strong and pale or wax colour upper beak, with a pigmented lower beak, ideally blackish for black birds, the beak cere is neat and not over-developed.
The colouring of this breed is also unusual, it comes in black or red BUT only in a type of overall pied or schimmel (grizzel) effect, apart from the head which is solid colour with a white forehead snip, or spot, that must not be too large.
The description is - the neck, breast, belly and wing shield evenly 'pied' this is in the form of solid white feathers or flecking, the flights (primaries) and tail having a 'branding' or burnt effect, the secondaries can be pied or 'branded' that is a basically white feather with the colour 'washed' through the webbing, darker at the edges as if 'scorched' by fire! The legs are described as 'very powerful' and as such, it takes a size 9 foot ring.
