Charles Darwin bred pigeons, and used them to learn more about the inheritance of different characteristics. For pigeons, beak size is one of those characteristics. There are 350 pigeon breeds or more ...

image: This shows striking variation between breeds of domestic pigeons. Left: Old German owl breed with a head crest and short beak. Right: Scandaroon breed with large beak and no crest. Background: ...

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in ...

Charles Darwin was obsessed with domestic pigeons. He thought they held the secrets of selection in their beaks. Free from the bonds of natural selection, the 350-plus breeds of domestic pigeons have ...