STANDARD

THE ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE 
BUDAPEST SHORT FACE.

By Dr. Istvan Szecsenyi, Budapest, Hungary 1986

The origin of the different breeds of pigeons are mostly unknown, including the Hungarian ones. The explanation for it is partly given by the fact that to breed a bird with special characteristics and the related inheritance factors, takes a very long time, often several human generations and partly that "secrets" about the method of achieving this indeed remain a secret. It is undeniable that each variety is a result of manipulation by the breeder, but the possibility to do this lies in the inclination for change in the breed, sometimes with unexpected new characteristics such as crest, feathers on the leg, blowing crop, number of feathers in the tail, etc. For example, it would be a waste of time if someone wanted to breed a pigeon which is self colored as a nestling and then after the first moult to expect the pigeon to develop white shield markings on the wings, unless the particular characteristic had occurred sometime in a primitive form. The human element enters here at this point to notice it, fix the new characteristic or mutation and then develop it.

A more common method to create new varieties is by crossing existing breeds and transpla nting some quality to the other breed, or altering the existing qualities. By arriving in this way to a new breed with a standard is not, however, the end of the story. A standard of perfection, as everything in nature, is subject to constant change. This change and the speed of change by different breeds in pigeons vary considerably, but it can be observed in each case. We have only to compare pictures taken or drawn a few decades ago with the same birds in question today. The tastes and with it the aims to reach a new ideal, are changing all the time.

So, shaping a new breed is a very complex and complicated procedure and is, therefore, difficult to untangle. The Budapest Short Face is no exception, but compared to other breeds we have numerous written evidence which can be regarded as authentic from the middle of the last century, regarding the history of the breed. In addition, we have "lip services" from old fanciers of previous generations, although few of them can be taken as evidence, because they are mostly contradictory.