THE LAYMAN'S GUIDE AROUND THE "EYESIGN MAZE".

by 'Spinksy'

This is possibly the most controversial subject within the pigeon world, it is the most misunderstood aspect of a pigeons physiology, often the most maligned and yet a map is there, to guide the fancier through this maze. This article is possibly the greatest undertaking of my pigeon life so far; but the reason for this undertaking was inspired at a local eyesign show. After judging 120 birds in 120 minutes and selecting the top producers from two highly prominent winning lofts then - one of these fanciers stated that he had raced winning pigeons for 30 plus years and still didn't understand "eyesign". He went on to say that no man has ever been born who could choose a pigeon to succeed, simply by looking in the birds eye! I am defeated in my reasoning to understand how he could say this after the judge (myself) selecting these top pigeons (possibly the best breeding cocks in town) without ever having known their history or performance nor ownership - so there must be something in eyesign! Firstly I want you all to understand that all creatures have eyesign - it is apparent in poultry, it is outstanding in budgies and is obvious in human beings. Unless one is able to read the map and understand it then in all truth looking in the pigeons ears would be equally as good a guide - without understanding then the map is useless. Another thing that I wish for you all to understand is that my interpretation of eyesign is completely different than those of Gigot, Van der Linden, Van Schingen, Bishop or Flemming. In each of their treatise eyesign is reputed to be almost infallible towards assessing quality and is almost all based upon the "Circle of Correlation", its width, colour, shape etc. Gigot, Van der Linden and Van Schingen extended this further by including another theory relating to "Skull Shapes" for assessment purposes. Indeed in a modern video skull shape was discussed i.e. the higher the forehead then the more intelligent the man or creature - quite humorously I noted that the skull shape that they were describing not only matched the pigeons but also their own! I say humorously because there is no medical nor anthropological reason for this theory to be correct and asylum's will have an equal number of high fore headed inmates as skull shapes of any other pattern - the same is also true of their eye colour or eyesign! It isn't the shape or size of the skull, but the actual capacity of the brain within that skull. Some very large animals with large skulls possess very small brains in proportion.

So what exactly is there in eyesign? To explain I must first tell you a story from my childhood - my own family are all reasonably intellectual, scholarly people, and almost all have blue/grey eyes. One of my childhood friends never attained above "C" Class level, he was to put it politely but mildly "a little bit thick" as were also his brothers and sisters academically and likewise his parents, though they were all genuine kindly people. At that age I believed that all people with blue eyes were intelligent and that those with brown were not! Bear in mind this was the immature reasoning of a child who had not yet studied anthropology, zoology, biology, environment and its effects upon social behavior patterns, physique and genetics! Later during my teenage years I still held these beliefs and chose my girl friends by their eyes; to me their eyes were their most fascinating aspect; however we all live and learn, as experience taught me that they had many other fascinating features! Eye patterns are a family trait and nothing more so how can it be so important in pigeon selection? Well now I am about to tell you. Some of the theoretically best eyes on pigeons are possessed by birds that may never win nor breed winners and these are the eyes that fanciers regularly trot out for the annual eyesign show. It is their belief that these pretty eyes will win the prize - and so they do under many judges. However I would say that the judge is just as much in a fog as the fancier and chooses the popular theoretical eyesign i.e. wide circle, good colour, grainy iris etc. with the greatest offender being the wide solid black!

In actual truth - there is no scientific or medical reason for these pigmentation's to denote intelligence or pre potency at breeding - they are only equitable with my story above i.e. they are family traits. It is possible to breed pigeons purely for eyesign shows and yet they may never win nor breed a winner at racing when based upon any previous theory. So now having told you that side of the truth about eyesign; what about the truth of my own side of the theory? The eye is the mirror of the soul, it is a map and guide to supreme vitality; it is a sign of good health/poor condition and this would be true even in creature that were not adept at athletic excellence. The eye can reveal many things - medical treatment will show in the eye; poor condition will show in the eye; family characteristics will also show in the eye; plus a host of other things. The best pigeon eye in the world will not infallibly be possessed by a super racing pigeon - there are too many other genetic reasons for success. The best pigeon eye in the world will not infallibly produce winners for a run of the mill fancier but; when the best eye is possessed by a pigeon of known class breeding, owned by a good fancier - then it is potentially a gold mine! Please understand that "best eye" means the eye that displays most vitality based upon the "map of good health".

There are a few more "truths" regarding eyesign - the large team fancier does not need to trouble his head with the subject; he will always find a percentage of winning birds, so he can safely say that he never bothers about eyesign. Sometimes a fancier may be fortunate enough to purchase a winning family of pre potent breeders/winners - he need do nothing more than pair them within a given line and retain the best performers. The work has been done for him by somebody else; his only task is to maintain that standard - or ruin it! Rarely will he ever improve upon it and that is a fact! The small team successful fancier; whether he be an eyesign fanatic or not - upon inspection of his team, invariably all will posses superb eyes of a family type and he ignores eyesign at his peril. These pigeons will carry the dual purpose winner / breeder any distance characteristics and that I can almost guarantee! In my view - there is no such thing as a racing eye for sprinting, nor an eye for limited distance - there is only one kind and that is the multi purpose eye ( usually multi cloured)! Fanciers in my position with a small team cannot afford to have pigeons that can only race - they must also breed their like and go to any distance!

At the show above there were numerous good eyed pigeons; there were four excellent eyed pigeons but, there was not one single bird with the eye that I seek - the infallible eye! So now is the time to explain something else and hark back to the past - in my loft 35 yrs ago there were twenty four pigeons; the product of many years work. There were ten cocks and all were multiple prize winners from 60 mls - 460 mls, one pigeon in particular had scored first prize from every race point flown over a six year period - his minor 2nd, 3rd 4th prizes and Amal. cards took him into 30 prizes plus. This was in a day and age when multiple winners from cross channel points were almost unheard of as indeed they are today. This pigeon also bred a host of winners for myself and anybody fortunate enough to have one from him - he had the infallible eye as also did several others. I rarely raced hens and even less as young birds - all pigeons were selected for their eye strength it was my only yardstick at that time.

If I were to apply this same yardstick today in my loft to all pigeons, the team would be immediately reduced to twelve birds - I chose the six for 1997 purely upon eyesign and they performed to reasonable expectations. Eventually all pigeons in my loft will be selected in this way - the only reason for not doing so at this juncture is the purpose of experiment of which most readers are aware. So back to the hens of 35 yrs since; chosen as youngsters for their eyes - it should be patently obvious - the cocks that were winning were their sons - nuff said! It is now time to take you through the "Map of the Eyesign Maze" in the hope that you might understand a little more. This is a "LAYMAN OF FORTY YEARS VERSION" and not the version of a professional optometrist - so no comments from professionals are required to confuse matters! I am fully aware that it has no scientific foundation! There is one thing that I will state - any fancier who knows his way around the map would chose your best pigeons at a glance - so don't ever offer them the pick of your loft as a challenge; because your best and self would soon part company! Towards this aim I have prepared an article of explanation - obviously I do not have photographs to hand, so descriptive wording will be used in the best of "Layman's" English! You will have to imagine that the eye is before you and use the power of your 'Mind's Eye'.

Fig. 1) is purely a picture of the pupil and the point where the sphincter muscle separate the pupil and iris. Some fanciers place great store upon this sphincter muscle - however it is rarely visible in anything other than bright light. Personally I pay it no heed whatsoever - the sphincter muscle controls the dilation of the pupil in varying light conditions. Obviously if the iris and pupil contract or dilate from pinpoint to wide open - then the sphincter muscle is doing its job correctly, so why bother looking for its shadow? The pupil itself should demonstrate wide variation in dilation - small is not necessarily better! A sphincter muscle surounds the orifice of the anus and controls its opening or closing, to break wind or defecate. Would we choose champions by examining the visibility or size of this arse hole muscle?

Fig. 2) illustrates the "circle of correlation" which in this case is black. Well as any artist or dye manufacturer will tell you - there is black and - Black! In this case it is not very wide and the outer edges clearly defined as if drown with a draughtsman compass. This is often found in both a yellow (shades of) and pearl (shades of) iris - in both cases it is the sign of an erratic performer, never mind how dense the black ! It can be useful within a family when paired to pure coloured circles - however as a performer it may come to win unexpectedly then arrive last to the loft upon the occasion it is pooled - that is its erratic nature. I have known them to breed well - usually it is because the mate is pre potent and not the pigeon in question! Personally I can manage without these! A sphincter muscle is nothing more than a muscle which surrounds a hole.

Fig 3) is slightly wider and slightly serrated as is the circumferennce of the circle has been carefully torn around the edges.- this is a better eye and may be black or coloured. The black must be dense black not smudgy and that applies at all times - it should not look as if it's been in the washing machine 100 times! The colours may be grey, blue (shades of) in the pearl iris. In port wine pigmentation the colour should also deepen proportionately to blue/grey. In light pearl it may be grey or even white - the white is often mistaken for an eye devoid of sign - in fact it is often the eye of a champion breeder. Look very carefully at this eye when you find it . The blue sign is found in reddish pearl as also is the grey! These may sometimes have black superimposed upon them. This superimposed sign is a good monitor towards condition but here it is necessary to know the family - in some the black disappears as the bird reaches form, in others the black becomes more pronounced. In both cases the iris will shine brighter and more colourful. As fitness diminishes the reverse is true and that is one very useful reason for studying the eye. The other colours are yellow (shades to gold or green) clearly defined or superimposed as above with similar rules. Yellow is pure yellow, gold is somewhat brighter; old gold appears darker, olive green is apparent as it would appear when mixing green and black paint (it is a dull green) The true green circle is very rare and very difficult to describe in words but once seen will never be forgotten, this short text is as near as the computer can reproduce, as the sign is variable between the three shades.( Can you see three shades? If you can see four then you are getting there quickly) Of these eyes, the pure colours are the most reliable when breeding; however they are still light years away from the "infallible eye".

Fig. 4) depicts the superimposition mentioned above and this is more often found in reliable racers but does not detriment their breeding potential within a family or selected to balance eye. Superimposition is one colour laid upon another. and more usually black. The superimposition may be found at any point towards the front of the sign - position is unimportant. Highly favored by many - still not what I am looking for!

Fig 5) is a circle of pure gold and clearly defined - this when found in the Nut brown eye (rare) is almost a certain sign of a top class pigeon - when black is found in the nut brown eye it is almost certain to be worthless and the wild orange eye also!

Fig 6) is a multi coloured circle - these may be yellow speckled with deeper gold, red, black & green. They are extremely rare but almost always possessed by a top performer breeding / racing / any distance and yet still not the infallible eye!

Fig 7) is the equivalent in the pearl iris and shows - blue / mauve / red / purple / black.

Fig 8) is similar but wider and more serrated - here we enter into the kingdom of the woodcutter. This sign should resemble the radial annual rings as seen in the cross section of a log of wood. The sharper the serration the better the eye. The more it is speckled the better the eye. The iris in all cases previously and up to this point should resemble scattered pebbles of colour, a kaleidoscope of bright splinters of glass and they should appear as if set in a crystal dome. The best description would be that of a Venetian Glass paperweight - all pebbles and parts clearly separated and magnified within the crystal dome - an object of beauty. Now we are getting towards the ultimate!

Fig. 9) is a further improvement - the sign is running out of control in serration, it is no longer the cog wheel of a Swiss watch - it is the blade of a log ripping circular saw in a Canadian lumberyard! Almost but not entirely infallible!

Personally the lowest grade that I would keep would be Fig 6 then upwards for improvement - however we all have to start somewhere; so as better appears we can improve!

This it it folks : for more understanding read and thouroughly digest all 21 articles forming the
'Novice's Social Circle' and visit our other site 'Homing World Net for a feast of eyesign photographs. See if you can find the 'Spot of Blind Pugh' - it's there in one of the featured eyes in the Cannon Gallery. This eye was possesed by one of Nick Brent's Champion Long Distance stock and the breeder of a dynasty. The eye itself is not much different than many found in every loft - the spot made the difference - but don't ask me why it should, because it is only melanin amongst the pigmentation colour.

Fig. 10) is the "Ultimate Infallible Eye" displaying all of the qualities of Figs. 6,7,8,9, but with additional characters - dust specks, worms & wires; threads of colour, gradual build up of pigment outwards from the pupil to the outer circle as it grows more dense. In the pearl category it appears as white, pink, red in bands of colour. Similarly in the yellow category radiating outwards - yellow; red, orange, brown - it is a painters palette of colours. This eye is made even more special - it has the "Black Spot" of Blind Pugh and the "Brush stroke" of Rembrandt. These may be singular occurrences or they may be found together - the positioning in the iris is unimportant! When this eye with these brushstrokes and the spot of Blind Pugh is found - then you have the "infallible Eye". These pigeons win at any distance, they breed their likes; they form Dynasties of many years duration. The "Spot" will always be the deepest black - the brushstrokes may be coloured or black. They are extremely rare - go to loft now and look for them; look for them everywhere that you go then put that bird to stock, you won't regret it.

Although as I said in the beginning - good eyes are also found in some poor pigeons - they must be bred from racing pigeons and not homing pigeons that could also have tremendous vitality; but would never win a race! It's a family thing; blue eyes or brown eyes there are good and bad from each.

FOOTNOTE - I should just like to make further comment upon the theory that no fancier was ever born who could tell a good pigeon purely upon looks, handling, eyesign etc. I can't tell lies because there are too many fanciers in Blackpool with long memories - they would shoot me down in flames. So with that in mind - I judged a show some thirty or more years ago for Blackpool Homing Society at the Highfield Hotel stables. I awarded the first six places to Captain Bill Mather, of whose stock I had no previous knowledge (Alan Sanderson was his helper at that time, same age as myself and one of the finest fanciers to ever grace our town as loft manager to the famous fanciers via his ability). It transpired that all six were related - father and five sons! All five sons topped Blackpool Amalgamation. Afterwards; one became known as "Captains Pride". This was a handling class for pigeons Flown 200 miles.Regarding the winner I was told by Bill - "You made a mistake and should have given 1st & 2nd in reverse order!" I pointed out my reason; then he agreed with me - my choice went on to win the Championship show at the Columbarian and then went on to win its class at the B.H.W. Show of the Year, as also did "Captains Pride" and also took Best Opposite Sex after having put up its legendary performance from Pau (730 miles ) with the National Flying Club. Later in life the Captain bestowed upon me the honour of being his loft manager. When I asked him why he wanted myself, when he could have the choice from so many good fanciers? His reply was : " I don't want and wouldn't have anybody else, I only ever want the best, and the best is you Stevie". That is the greatest compliment that anybody could ever be paid, because the Captain was revered as 'The Greatest' and certainly not noted for his compliments!

I believe that Dennis Martin and myself as steward were the first to award Les & Matey Barrows "Black Beauty" best in show at the Columbarian - her racing/producing/showing results became legendary in this area! So far I have judged upon five occasions during recent seasons - each of my winning choices turned out to be top performance pigeons at both breeding and racing - three winners from five have won the local championship shows and Les Barrow's blue w/f hen won her class the following January at the B.H.W Show of the year. This illustrates that the countries top judges agreed with my choice! Phil Holloway & my pal can vouch for my predictions coming true - just ask them, and all done with a single quick glance! The team of six Boglins were chosen and unraced as youngsters - they were random pigeons from decent but average fanciers - not from the pick of the loft - these Boglins gave good account of themselves, beating the winners of other clubs most weeks, and all results written up in the British Homing World for all to see and judge!

One fancier advertised birds for sale, based upon his 14 X 1st Prize per season at £60 -00 each. Fact - that fancier only beat the Boglin Six, upon four occasions during a three year period, he raced a team of 30 birds weekly - I raced six, sometimes only two, and went on to perform the coup de gras, by only entering a single bird from Weymouth ( after announcing three weeks previously in the B.H.W. paper that I would only enter one nominated pigeon [number 48], so that others might stand a chance!) I do not know of any other scribe for the pigeon press, who would so publicly place his reputation upon the line and risk all credibility, just to prove the point that good pigeons, could be found in the worst of performance lofts. The Boglins were the only six pigeons that I owned at the time, they raced to an 8' X 6' shed and all came from the lofts of non winning fanciers. What more does anybody have left to prove? They were all flown by using the 'Novices Social Circle' system against widowhood fanciers. The only club that they didn't top was my own - the Columbarian, but they still made a lot of faces red! Particularly when considering the class of competition and also the fact that most raced widowhood with teams of 30 cocks or more. The Boglins never fell below the top 25% on the list. Now let's talk about coefficients?

On each judging occasion my final selection was always made after using my own eyesign method! It not only sorted the prizes - it revealed top winner/breeders - there were large entries in every class and many specially selected for their beauty not racing ability - Spinksy doesn't look for beauty - he looks for brains and it would be the same if he were choosing a girl friend! Some just aren't fit to breed off! Page two - mechanics of sight

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