129 



On reference to Vol. XII. of the British Museum 

 Catalogue we see that this latter authority enumerates 

 19 different species of Serin, amongst which however 

 he does not include the Canary. This bird he puts 

 down in subordinate rank as a sub-species of the Serin 

 Finch {^Scrimcs serinus). Although Prof. Newton, in 

 his more than valuable Dictionary of Birds, appears in a 

 measure to deprecate this arrangement, since at any 

 rate he draws pointed attention to the fact that Dr. 

 Sharpe gives no reasons for his departure, yet it seems 

 that the classification is sound and the reasons not far 

 to seek. 



First of all, what is meant by being a subspecies ? 

 Just as the 19 different species have been slowly pro- 

 duced by as many (perhaps simultaneously) radiating 

 diversions from some common primordial stock, which 

 is by now eiiher completely lost, or which on the other 

 liand may have even continued, (though perhaps in 

 gradually changing form), to the present time, thus 

 constituting some one of the 19 races, so the title of 

 subspecies would indicate that at a more recent period 

 the Canary has been evolved as a secondary product 

 from some accidental variation of the Serin, which we 

 know has not been lost, but still continues alongside 

 its presumed offshoot. 



The facts and analogies pointing to this having 

 been the case are strong. From Darwin we learn that 

 " the most striking and important fact for us is the 

 "affinity of the species which inhabit islands to those 

 " of the nearest mainland without being actually the 



"same." Again: — " it is an almost universal 



" rule that the endemic productions of islands are 

 "related to those of the nearest continent or of the 

 " nearest large island." Thus he tells us that the birds 

 of the Galapagos Archipelago lying about 500 miles 

 from the shores of South America have an afiinity to 

 American birds which " is manifest in every character, 



