Voorburg Shield Cropper

The Voorburg Shield Cropper is a breed of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding. Being domesticated pigeons, Voorburg Shield Croppers are descendants of the rock dove (Columba livia).^[1] This breed was developed by C.S. Theodore Van Gink at Voorburg in the Netherlands in 1935.^[2] "Shield" refers to the wing shields, the covert feathers covering the wings, which according to the standard, are the only pigmented feathers visible on an alighted bird.^[3] Their enlarged necks, referred to as a "globe", is actually a crop that is inflated; all pigeons inflate their crops to vocalize (coo), but croppers and pouters maintain the inflation of their crops due to a behavioral quirk selected through artificial selection.^[4]

Voorburg Shield Cropper

Country of origin	Netherlands
Classification
Pigeon Columba livia

Their NPA standard for their behavior reads:

Unconstrained, smooth and frolicsome, with a lively bump of curiosity, it stands and moves in an upright position with the eyes directly over the center of the feet. When courting, the cock spreads its tail in a fan-like manner and moves in a hopping motion; the hen, when flirting,, may behave similarly. In flight, both sexes clap their wings above their backs. The Voorburg Shield Cropper is a very friendly, animated pigeon that is quite responsive to human voices and attention. In show condition, it should give a constant, active performance.

^[3]

Due to being the standard, the breed is well known for its friendliness to humans, its lively mannerisms, and affectionate nature. During showing, the birds "should give a constant, active performance" to the judges, which is the same display they would perform in courtship towards other pigeons.^[3][5]

See also

• List of pigeon breeds