Birmingham Roller
The Birmingham roller is the classic performance roller pigeon developed in and around Birmingham, England, from domestic pigeons of rock-dove origin. Its defining trait is not a color or ornament but the ability to perform a rapid backward somersault in the air, appearing as a tight spinning ball before snapping back to level flight. Good birds are compact, alert, and balanced, and they are found in many loft colors such as blue bar, blue checker, black, red bar, silver, yellow, almond, and white. It remains one of the main breeds used in organized roller competition, where teams are judged for quality, depth, frequency, and unity of breaks.
These pigeons are normally flown from a kit box and managed on a careful schedule rather than kept only as display birds. Feeding, exercise, and rest are adjusted so the kit flies high enough to work but not so hard that birds become unstable. Depth alone is risky: breeders select for a clean roll with strong recovery, because rolldowns can be injured or lost. Predator pressure, overtraining, and careless pairing can spoil a family quickly, so experienced fanciers keep detailed loft notes and test youngsters before relying on them as breeders.
Colors: Almond, Black, Blue Bar, Blue Checker, Red Bar, Silver, White, Yellow
