Van High Flyer

Van Pigeon

These pigeons, also known as "Van Pigeon" or "Van Tumble", are not classified in the "Tumble" category since they do not have the standard tumbling and playing styles expected from tumbler pigeons. These pigeons are categorized as high flyers, considering their high and long flying abilities. They are known as "Van High Flyer" throughout our country. They are known abroad as "Van Highfleir" in English. Van High Volatiles is a local pigeon race unique to our country. Van Van neighboring provinces and districts in some provinces in Turkey are locally grown. In recent years, thanks to the promotions made on the internet, it has become a known and interesting race in our other regions. On the other hand, our knowledge of race is quite a limit. One of the reasons for this is that it was grown locally. The purpose of this research is to gather what is known about Van High Volatiles and contribute to the promotion of the race.

Pigeon Culture in Van
Van our province, East and Southeast are having similar manner to a pigeon culture is rooted in many of our provinces. The name "home bird" is used for domestic pigeons in Van. The word "Gögercin" mostly describes wild pigeons. House birds' shelters are often in the roofs or gardens of houses. Its shelter is called "coop" or "pin". In Van, we can find traces of pigeon culture in the vocabulary used for pigeons. Assoc. Dr. Bedri Sarica has published a large collection of these words. I do not include here to avoid distraction. Those interested can investigate. Another source on this subject is Van folk tales.

To put it as an example, Dede Dum, who was turned into a book in the 15th century, wants to take the revenge of the dead stout from Azrael. However, Azrael changes shape and turns into a pigeon. With respect to the pigeon, the shape-changing motif appears in 3 fairy tales in Van. In another fairy tale, the pigeon appears to emerge like a human.

1) In the Egg Layer Tale of Black Chicken: When the gypsy girl pulls the white feather on the head of the girl who takes her to the top of the tree, the girl becomes a white dove. In the prince, his wife kills the pigeon at the insistence of the gypsy girl. A giant plane tree ends where the pigeon's blood is shed.

2) In Cucumber Tale: When Prince's wife throws her basil on the ground at the insistence of her gypsy daughter, basins become a couple of pigeons. This time, the shot pigeons turn into greyhounds.

3) In the Fairy Tale of Mahmur and the Monkey Girl: The monkey girl, whose husband was killed by his brother-in-law, becomes a pigeon with his feeds. They disappear after giving the drug to the sultan to heal her husband.

4) In the Canpolat Fairy Tale: In this fairy tale, pigeons speak mutually in a similar way. Two pigeons placed on the tree at the beginning of the pool, find out what Mirza Mehmet should do, looking for the beauty of the world. Mirza Mehmet hears what is spoken. The pool dries when the telek thrown by pigeons sinks into the pool.



In addition to the fairy tales, 13-14 in the Albayrak Village of Başkale District of Van. There are pigeon figures on the pediment of the monumental entrance gate of Bartholomeos Church, dating from the Armenians dating back to the century. These figures can be associated with the pigeon culture of the region as well as representing the holy spirit of the pigeon in the Christian religious belief. Again in the region, pillow carpets, rugs, etc. Pigeon figures seen in weaving examples give an idea about the pigeon culture in the region.

Time of Van High Volatiles
Van High Flyer We cannot say that we have a lot of data in this matter. According to the information provided by the elderly who breed these pigeons in Van, it is stated that the breed has been bred since ancient times. These pigeons, which have many breeders in Van, are the only breed in the region preferred by almost all breeders. The fact that it is not well known throughout the country and limited to a certain region suggests that there is a local race developed in this region.

The first thing that comes to mind about the origin of the breed is the possibility of being related to the Iranian High Volatiles (these pigeons are known as "Tehrani" in Iran). This possibility seems to be strong considering that Van province has a border with Iran. Indeed, both races are similar in terms of abyss and physical characteristics. Iranian High Volatiles have been broken up with various races over time in order to improve their durability and color characteristics. There are two different types of Iranian High Volatiles, with high volatile and translating features. These two types have distinct differences from each other in terms of physical and fly. If an analogy is to be made, Van pigeons appear closer to those physically high-volatile, and to the trickier types as their fly characteristics. If a fair comparison is made, VanAll of the High Volatiles are long legs. All of Iran High Volatiles are without legs. The eyes of Iranian High Volatiles are mostly dark in tumble density types. In other types, it can be in different shades of light and dark. The eyes of the Van High Voyage pigeon are open and bright like glass, as we call pearl eyes. This eye color is standard for all colors. Rarely, birds with dark eyes are encountered as the recessive gene. Such pigeons are called "Iranian" in Van. The reason why these pigeons are called Iranians is because their eyes are dark. The point that needs to be considered in this form of naming is that Van breeders make a clear difference between their own birds and Iranian birds.

Physical Properties
Van High Volatiles are medium sized birds. They have a wide breast. It has a well-rounded round head and a beak in proportion to the head. Medium-sized beak might be called a subtle and elegant. Beak color And nails can be black or light (bone color). The neck is of medium length and in proportion to their bodies. They have a structure that can be considered chunky in general. They carry their wings on the tail. Their tails vary within 12-14 wires. Apart from these numbers, a number is considered an error. Feet are of medium length and long legs. They do not have no legs. The leg should not be long and wide, but enough to cover the feet. Imprint diameter is 9 mm. These pigeons can be back-crested or topless. Crested ones are more liked. The back hill is raised, high-pile and smooth. However, it is not very wide. The cone-shaped crown should not extend from ear to ear. In Van, such crested birds are called "papahli" or "Pompili". The eyes are light colored and bright, as we call "pearl eye". The eyeballs are smooth and rounded.

Color Structure and Color Types
Van High Volatile - Color StructuringVan high Volatiles are above all a performance pigeon. They are not grown for their color or physical properties. Naturally, what is said should not be evaluated in the sense that color is not considered at all. Their color is also important, only in the secondary plan. Van High Volatiles have different colors and color configurations. It is not simple to be able to measure them. They have blue, black, yellow and red colors. Color configurations that are frequently encountered and form a certain group are given below.

1) Head Sprinkle White:
It is the most common color structuring type. This pigeon in color, the form should be distributed in a manner sprinkle on the white head. The color sprinkled can be blue, black, yellow, red. The color sprinkled starting from the head often includes the neck and ends. The bird's head and neck have a fuzzy appearance. Sometimes this color also spreads throughout the body, and the bird takes on what we call "mottled". Wing flies and other parts of the body are white in these birds. The tail is usually colored, it can only be white. The color in the tail may be the same as the neck, but may vary in a similar way. There are different forms of naming according to the color of the tail.

Akkuyruk: Pigeon with a white tail.
Karakuyruk: Pigeon with a black tail.
Crazy Blackbird: The Blackbird is the blackness sprinkled on the white head of the pigeon.
Smoketail: It is a pigeon with a gray tail.
Chickentail: A pigeon with a yellow brown feather on its tail.
Pearltail: It is a pigeon with all or some of the tail tips in black.



Süslükuyruk: It is a pigeon with black and white mixed colors on its tail wires.
Zerotail: It is a pigeon with a dark black tail.
Queer engaged: A pigeon with one or two strings of your tail black.

2) Head Sprinkle Black:
It is the same as white with sprinkle on the head. The main color of a single bird is black, not white, and its color distribution is white on black. Only in these kinds of birds does the color generally spread throughout the body as we call it "mottled". These kinds of birds are called "chilerep" in Van.

3) Head Sprinkle Yellow:
It is the same as black in the head. The color of a single bird is yellow, not black. The color distribution is white on yellow.

4) Head Sprinkle Red:
It is the same as black in the head. The color of the bird is red, not black. The color distribution is white on red.

5) Those who are not sprinkled with heads
In these pigeons, the head and body are solid colors. This color is often white. Only the tail of the bird is sometimes colored the wings of the wings. Wing feathers in the form of color variegation in white feather quill. The common colors are blue, black, yellow and red. In Van, pigeons of this color type are called "butterflies".

6) Plain Colors:
It is not a common color structuring. Plain white, plain blue, plain black can be. The most plain white ones are seen among these colors. Sometimes white feathers can be found in a certain part of the body of plain whites. Name the plain white ones as "milk white" in VanThere loop. All black ones are called "zilerep". The blue and barred ones are called "Duman" or "Dumanlı".

Flight Features
Van High Flyer - Flight Features The most important flight feature of these pigeons is that they fly high, become a flipper and stay in the air for a long time. Below we will evaluate these features one by one, first, let's give some general information. They are loyal birds attached to their nests. They are not sensitive to shimmer. Therefore, it is not easy for them to be lowered into other slots. While flying, they are not affected by the bird created on the ground, but when the bird is opened near the landing, they tend to recover. They can be blown collectively, in small groups or individually. They tend to fly in groups in general. The group flyer may have a circular character but may change. Sometimes when flying in groups, a few birds leave the group and fly single and roll over. These birds occasionally join the group and separate again. It has been observed that the birds leaving the group fly longer and only tend to descend. Females and males are blown mixed. Breeders state that females fly more. Flight formats are not fast and hard. There are no sudden group fluctuations. The tastes of the growers are different in the form of somersault and high fly in Van High Flyers. Some breeders like abundant tumbled birds, while others value higher fly characteristics.

1) High flying feature:
What we understand without flying high is the height at which the birds are visible, but the wings are not selected. It is for the birds to reach this height quickly and maintain their flight at this height. High flying birds are called "migrant". The gliding of the bird without flapping its wings during the fly is called "making a boat" in the region. Kayaking birds are not liked.

2) Tumble feature:
Wing sounds are especially noticeable when rolling over. There are no strong wing sounds, just like in other tumblers. When these pigeons are lifted off the ground, they roll over and begin to rise. It does not take them long to reach the point height. If we need to define the tumbler pigeon characteristics of these pigeons, it can be said that they are of the type called "playing in the air". They stop while flying and throw 3-4 flips without rising upwards and then continue their flights. This upward movement is called "pulling a spear" in the region. His movements are cheerful and lively. These pigeons, like other tumblers, do not have a voyage and shelling movement. The expected increase from the bird is that it rises somersault and occasionally rises in the air with 3-4 somersaults. The most important thing is that it lands abundantly while landing. As the Van High Flyers descend, they display a gradual or lowered landing as we call "blending". Meanwhile, the bird is expected to roll over as much as possible. Birds placed elsewhere and performing landless landing are not valued. Birds that do not fly and roll over in the area are called "beygoz" or "ergoz".

3) Airborne time:
The hovering time of these pigeons should not be less than 4 hours. They fly on average for 5-6 hours. However, it is known that 10-12 hours of flying birds are also encountered. Therefore, they are blown up in the early morning. Birds that stay in the air for a long time are more favorable for their breeders. Therefore, this feature is tried to be developed.