Pigeon Racing Lexicon

Pigeon racing involves the use of homing pigeons. These are pigeons that are able to find their way back home regardless of where they are released. Some people have taken this ability and exploited it by pitting one pigeon’s skill against that of another through racing. These pigeons are often transported hundreds of miles away only to be released. Each pigeon then must endeavor to find their way home. The quickest pigeon wins. Pigeons used for racing are kept confined and released to fly only at the whim of their captors. Pigeons sold to another person cannot even be released to fly because they will return to their original home. They are forever imprisoned.

Before I wrote this, I knew nothing of pigeon racing. I list this information here so that others may become informed. Pigeons used for racing are deserving of a normal life, the more educated activists become the more apt we will be to afford them one.

Airline

The distance of a race as measured by a straight line down to the nearest thousandths of a mile is called the airline. It is measured from the area where the birds are released (release point) to the finishing point of the race (loft). The airline is measured and certified by “civil engineering firms.” [66]

Arrival Time

When a racing pigeon arrives at the finish of a race her time is recorded. This time is referred to as the arrival time. [66]

Ash

This term refers to a type of coloration found on pigeons. A pigeon having this coloration has no colored bars on its wings and is a “light tannish color.” Pigeons sporting these colors are sometimes referred to as a “barless Mealy.” [66]

AU

Short for the American Racing Pigeon Union, Inc; this organization touts itself as being the biggest pigeon racing “organization” in the U.S.A. [66]

Aviary

This is a structure constructed of wire rods, similar to a conventional bird cage, which is attached to the outside of a pigeon loft allowing them to bathe both in the sun and water. [66]

Bars

Often on the top rear portion of a pigeon’s wing are bands of color referred to as bars. [66]

BB

See "Blue Bar"

BC

See "Blue Check"

Blue Bar

This is a type of pigeon that is a blue gray color and has two black colored bars on the top rear portion of a its wing. Birds with this coloration are sometimes referred to simply as “Blue” or Blues (plural). [66]

Blue Check

This is a type of pigeon that is a blue gray color and has a black “checkered” design on the top portion of a its wing. [66]

Bobs

In pigeon racing traps are used to capture the birds after a race in order to remove their leg identification for timing purposes. Bobs are the wire structures that a pigeon must pass through to enter the trap. They provide entry to the trap, but no exit. [66]

Breaking Point

Racing birds sometimes fly in a flock. This term comes from a theory that for a bird to win a race she must separate from the flock at a certain time, which is referred to as the breaking point. [66]

Candy

This is a mixture of grains used as an enticement to get a pigeon to enter a trap. [66]

Capsule

This is a device that holds the countermark (bird identification, leg band) so that it may be inserted into the clock to record the race time of each pigeon. Some clocks do not use a capsule. [66]

Carrying Crate

A box designed to transport pigeons and to release them for training or a race. [66]

Cere

This is the area around a pigeon’s eye that is not feathered where the skin can be seen. [66]

Checker

A pigeon displaying a “checkered” pattern on her wing. [66]

Circling

If a pigeon is flying, in a circular fashion, around the loft in which she is kept it is called circling. [66]

Clock

An apparatus designed to record the flight time of each pigeon once they finish the race. The time is recorded to the second. [66]

Clock Opening

This is the area where the post race times and speeds are determined to find the winner. [66]

Cock

Male pigeon. [66]

Combine

The type of event where more than one club competes in a “coordinated” race. [66]

Concourse

A race structured closely to that of a combine but larger in size. [66]

Conveyor

This is the person who transports the pigeons to the location where they are to be released prior to the start of a race. [66]

Countermark

This a band placed on a pigeon’s leg containing an identification number so that the band can be removed and the time recorded post race. [66]

Crooked Keel

A breast bone that is abnormal in shape (crooked). [66]

Cull

There are two uses of this term. If a pigeon is unwanted it is referred to as a cull. Similarly, to kill unwanted or non-desirable birds is to “cull” them. [66]

Down

Newly born chicks have a yellow colored covering over their bodies called down. Eventually they will grow feathers to replace the down. [66]

Drag

The area where most of the lofts are concentrated for each race is referred to as the drag. [66]

Dropper

This is a pigeon that is used to bring other pigeons back to the loft. When released the dropper flies across the keeper’s yard and onto the landing board. The pigeons flying above see the dropper go to the landing board and follow her. Because the birds aren’t free to come and go as they please, this is a way for the keeper to get the pigeons back in the loft when he wants. [66]

Droppings

Bird excrement. [66]

Eye Sign

This is a theory among racers attempting to relate eye characteristics to a pigeons racing and breeding success. [66]

Fancier

This is slang for a person that keeps pigeons used for racing. [66]

Fancy Pigeon

These are pigeons kept for show rather than race. [66]

Flagging

This is the activity of making pigeons fly when desired usually for the purpose of exercising. [66]

Flights

These are the feathers largely responsible for a pigeon’s ability to fly. Each wing contains twenty of these feathers. The ten feathers located near the body are called secondaries, while the ten farther out on the wing are called primaries. [66]

Flying to Perch

A type of racing, most often used for young birds, where the pigeons finish by flying to a perch rather than a loft. [66]

Fret Marks

This corresponds to “any horizontal mark or deformity” present on a pigeon’s feathers. Blemishes of this nature are caused by inadequate nutrition and/or some form of stress. [66]

Frill

The feathers on the neck of a pigeon oriented in the opposite direction than the rest. [66]

GMT

An acronym, Greenwich Mean Time, is the standard used to indicate universal world time. [66]

Grit

A combination of materials that pigeons need to consume in order to help break their food down through abrasion. [66]

Hen

Female pigeon. [66]

Hooples

This is a long pole atop which sits a structure resembling the head of a tennis racket. It is used to guide pigeons into the loft “trap.” [66]

In-breeding

The breeding of genetically similar pigeons, such as, but not limited to, those in the same family line. [66]

Keel

Sometimes referred to as a breast bone, the keel divides the pectoral region of a pigeon. [66] The keel is a perfectly suited structure for adhering muscle, because the bone runs behind the entire pectoral region and between each pectoral. This provides ample surface area allowing for a strong base on which this muscle must operate.

Landing Board

A horizontal surface that pigeons first land on before entering the loft (think: landing pad). [66]

Liberation

This is not the noble action one might normally have cause to think about. Liberation is the simultaneous release of the pigeons on race day so they will fly the extraordinary distances necessary for them to return home. [66] The pigeon’s flight to their home is considered the race. The bastardized term “liberation” is more akin to waving a green flag signaling the start of a race.

Liberator

This is a euphemistic term for the individual that releases the pigeons for a race. [66] The pigeons aren’t really liberated as they must endeavor to return home only to be trapped and used again another day.

Loft

A place where pigeons are kept. [66]

Master Timer

This is the clock by which all timers for a race are set. [66]

Mealy

Also called “red bar” a mealy is a tan color pigeon sporting “red-brown” color bands across the rear portion of her wing. [66]

Molt

The process by which every year a pigeon replaces her feathers with new plumage. The peak period of molting happens towards the end of summer and the start of the fall season. [66]

Natural System

This is where pigeons are allowed to raise their young and live in pairs during parenthood. [66]

Nicking

When different genetic lines of pigeons are bred and the offspring become winners. [66]

Night Flight

When a pigeon cannot be brought back into the loft and continues to fly throughout the night. [66]

Old Bird

A pigeon used for racing that is more than a year in age. [66]

Out-Cross

The breeding of separate genetic lines of pigeons. [66]

Overfly

During a race each pigeon strives to return to their lofts. Some lofts require the pigeons to travel greater distances than others. The variance in distance is referred to as overfly. A pigeon that has to fly two miles farther than the closest loft is said to have a overfly of two miles. [66]

Pd

This is short for a pied colored pigeon which sports white feathers about her head and/or neck. [66]

Pedigree

A record of a pigeon’s bloodlines and race history. [66]

Pied

This is a pied colored pigeon which sports white feathers about her head and/or neck. [66]

Pin Feathers

A feather before it has emerged from the feather shaft. [66]

Pipping

When birds are hatching they peck at their shell in order create an opening in which they can exit the egg. This is referred to as pipping. [66]

Poles

Sticks made of wood that are employed in herding pigeons into the trap which leads into the loft. [66]

Pot Eggs

These are fake eggs that are used to replace those stolen from mother pigeons. This is done because sometimes the offspring of the pigeons are not wanted. The real eggs are subsequently destroyed. [66]

Primaries

Pigeons have twenty feathers on each wing used primarily for flight. The larger ten, located towards the end of the wing, are called primaries. The secondaries are the smaller ten and are located on the portion of the wing closest to a pigeon’s body. [66]

Prisoner

This is a pigeon that is never released from the cage in which it is confined. Most often prisoners are acquired from another person. [66] If the birds were released they would return to their original home. It seems likely that prisoners would be used for breeding purposes more than anything else.

Racing Homer

This type of pigeon sports the ability to locate her home regardless of where released. She is also able to fly great distances quickly. Homing pigeons unlucky enough to be raced often come from genetic lines manipulated (selectively bred) for the aims of their breeders. [66]

Ranging

One form of exercising pigeons is to let them loose to fly around their loft. When a pigeon ventures from the area of their home it is called ranging. It also referred to as “tripping” or “scouting.” [66]

RB

This is the abbreviation for a red bar (or mealy) which is a tan color pigeon sporting “red-brown” color bands across the rear portion of her wing. [66]

RC

This is the abbreviation for a red check which is a red colored pigeon with “dark red-brown” markings on the top of her wing. [66]

Red Bar

Also called “mealy” a red bar is a tan color pigeon sporting “red-brown” color bands across the rear portion of her wing. [66]

Red Check

A red check is a red colored pigeon with “dark red-brown” markings on the top of her wing. [66]

Release Point

The area where racing pigeons are released from at the start of a race. [66]

Road Training

This involves taking pigeons some distance from their loft and releasing them so that they have to fly back to their home. This is used as a method of training. It is also called “tossing.” [66]

Running Board

A board that runs across the cage (aviary) attached to a loft whereby the pigeons are able to sit or stand on it. [66]

Scouting

One form of exercising pigeons is to let them loose to fly around their loft. When a pigeon ventures from the area of their home it is called scouting. It also referred to as “tripping” or “ranging.” [66]

Secondaries

Pigeons have twenty feathers on each wing used primarily for flight. The secondaries are the smaller ten and are located on the portion of the wing closest to a pigeon’s body. The larger ten, located towards the end of the wing, are called primaries. [66]

Settling

This is the process where young pigeons are allowed to adjust to confinement and the limited amount of flying time that will become their life. Essentially this involves the learning process of the pigeons that the loft is their home. It also involves learning the surroundings of the loft when they are allowed to fly. [66]

Settling Cage

A cage attached to the main loft so that young pigeons can acclimate themselves to the loft at their own discretion. [66]

Shipping

Shipping refers to the activities done in order to enter and prepare pigeons for a race. [66]

Shipping Crate

A holding crate used to transport the pigeons to the location where they will be released. [66]

Single Toss

This involves taking a single pigeon some distance from the loft and releasing her so that she will have to fly back home. This is also referred to as “road training.” Releasing multiple birds is called “tossing.” [66]

Spl

This is an abbreviation for a color pattern on a pigeon referred to as a splash. This is a pigeon that has white feathers interspersed with another color. [66]

Splash

This is a pigeon that has white feathers interspersed with another color. [66]

Spraddle Legged

This is a condition where newly infant pigeons do not have enough traction in their nest causing their legs to point outwards. Often such conditions result in permanent deformity when left uncorrected. [66]

Squeaker

A pigeon anywhere from two to eight months of age. [66]

Stall Trap

Trap designed to capture a pigeon before she enters the loft after a race. This allows the owner to remove the leg band (countermark) so that a race time can be recorded. [66]

Tick

One or two white feathers at the rear of a pigeon’s eye. [66]

Tossing

This involves taking pigeons some distance from their loft and releasing them so that they have to fly back to their home. This is used as a method of training. It is also called “road training.” [66]

Trap

A contraption constructed so as to allow pigeons entry into the loft, but not an exit. [66]

Treading

When a male pigeon mounts a female pigeon during intercourse it is called treading. [66]

Tripping

One form of exercising pigeons is to let them loose to fly around their loft. When a pigeon ventures from the area of their home it is called tripping. It also referred to as “scouting” or “ranging.” [66]

Variation Time

Difference between individual timers and the master timer. [66]

Wft

Abbreviation for “white flight.” This is a pigeon used for racing with one or more of her primary flight feathers white in color. [66]

White Flight

This is a pigeon used for racing with one or more of her primary flight feathers white in color. [66]

Widowhood

A racing system where male pigeons are shown a female pigeon prior to being released in a race; they then fly back to this female, allegedly faster, given the motivation of the opposite sex. [66]

YPM

This is the abbreviation for yards per minute. [66]

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Posted/Updated: 7/08/04