Birmingham Roller

The Birmingham Roller is a very popular breed of domesticated pigeon that originated in Birmingham, England, where they were developed via selective breeding, for their ability to do rapid backward somersaults while flying. As the name suggests and as also mentioned by Wendell Levi in his book The Pigeon, this breed was developed in and around the City of Birmingham in England. The Birmingham Roller has a flying type and a show type. Show Rollers are larger than the flying variety, and are bred just for show. A similar breed called a Parlor Roller look much like Birmingham Rollers, but can't fly; rather, they spin backwards, somersaulting on the ground for many yards. Oriental Rollers are another aerial performer and come in many colour varieties. Some fanciers fly their rollers in competition, both locally and nationally. There is even a World Cup competition that includes several other countries. Kits (group of pigeons) are scored for quality and depth, as well as the number of birds in a turn. The Birmingham Roller is a very popular breed of performing pigeon, with around 10,000 breeders worldwide.