English Pouter

The English Pouter is a breed of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding.

The modern breeds of croppers, such as the Norwich Cropper, originate from the English Pouter.

Historically, the English Pouter was also called the Pouting Horseman, due to the links with the Horseman breed.

William Bernhardt Tegetmeier proposed that the English Pouter originated from cross breeding the old pigeon breeds the Dutch Cropper, Uploper and the Parisian Pouter.

Charles Darwin described the English Pouter in his 1868 work The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, saying that the breed was "perhaps the most distinct of all domesticated pigeons".

As with all breeds of domesticated pigeons, the English Pouter is descended from the Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), and has been developed over years through selective breeding of individuals with specific characteristics.