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The first Ancona chickens were imported into England in 1851,<ref name=dad/> and selectively bred there for regularity and consistency of the white markings in the plumage. In 1880 a breeder named Cobb showed a group. Some birds were exported from Britain to the United States in 1888. Rose-combed Ancona chickens were first shown in Birmingham in 1910.<ref name=zanon/>
In the United States, the single-comb Ancona was recognised by the [[American Poultry Association]] in 1898, and the rose-comb bird in 1914.<ref name=
== Characteristics ==
The Ancona is a good layer of white eggs, of which it lays an average of 220 per year;<ref name=dad/> the eggs weigh 50 g or more.<ref name=agraria/> Hens have little tendency to broodiness; pullets may begin to lay at 5 months. It is a typical [[Mediterranean Class (chicken breeds)|Mediterranean breed]], rustic, lively and hardy.<ref name=agraria/> Birds range widely and take flight easily.<ref name=albc/>
The plumage of the Ancona is black mottled with white. Approximately one feather in three has a v-shaped white marking at the tip. All primaries, sickles and tail-feathers should have white tips. The black feathers may have a beetle green tint. In Italy, blue mottled with white is also recognised in full-size birds, but not in bantams. Australia recognises a Red variety, with a chestnut to red bay ground colour.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Limited|first1=Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association|title=Australian poultry standards|date=2011|publisher=Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association Limited|location=Ballarat, Vic.|isbn=9781921488238|pages=
The legs are yellow mottled with black, the beak yellow with some black markings on the upper [[mandible]], and the eye orange-red. The skin is yellow, the ear-lobes white or cream-coloured. The comb is of medium size, with five well-marked points; in hens it should fall gracefully to one side.<ref name=agraria/> In the United Kingdom and in the United States, but not in Italy, a rose comb is permitted.<ref name=albc/>
Cocks weigh {{convert|2.5|to|2.8|kg|abbr=on}} and hens {{convert|1.8|to|2.1|kg|abbr=on}};<ref name=agraria/> ring sizes are 18
== References ==
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