12 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



Later Refer= 

 ences to the 

 Canary. 



the Canaiy Islands by Spain did not take 

 place until the cl<)sin<j years of the fifteenth 

 century \vc know that little time was lost 

 in bringing the first Canaries to Europe 

 along with tlie sugar. 



"The Epitome of the Art of Hus- 

 bandry," London, 1675. By J. B., Gent. 

 (Joseph Blagrove). (P. 100.) 

 — " The first I shall begin 

 withal is the Bird called the 

 Canary-Bird, because the ori- 

 ginal of that Bird came from thence (I hold 

 this to be the best Song-Bird) ; but now 

 with industry they breed them very plen- 

 tifully in Ciermany, and in Italy also ; 

 and they have bred some fnv here in 

 England though as yet not anything 

 to the purpose as they do in other 

 Countries." 



He also writes (j). 107) : — " !\Iany Coun- 

 try - People cannot distinguish a Canary 

 from one of our common Green Birds, 

 etc." 



In Ray's translation (1678) of Wilhigli- 

 by's "Ornithology" (1676), the following 

 quotation from a late English writer (prob- 

 ably modified from Blagrove) is given : — 



" Canary birds of late years have been 

 brought abuntlantl}^ out of Germany, and 

 are therefore now called (ierman birds, 

 and these German birds in handsomeness 

 and song excel those brought out of the 

 Canaries. . . . They arc fed with Canary- 

 seed, wherein they take great pleasure, 

 which therefore is wont to be brouglit 

 together with them out of the same 

 Islands. 



" Gesner, from the relation of liis friend, 

 writes, that they are fed with tiie same 

 food with the Siskin and Citril, viz. Line 

 seed, and Po|)py seed, and sometimes also 

 Millet ; but jjarticularly, that they delight 

 in sugar and the sugar-cane, as also in that 

 sort of Chickwccd or blouse-ear, whicii 

 they conunoidy call Ilcnbit. For, he 

 allirms. Iluit l)y this they are ])resently 

 j)rovoked to sing, etc." 



In " Gentlemen's Recreation " (1077) 

 Canaries in England arc mentioned as 

 being mostly of a green colour and imported 

 from Germany. 



" Traitc des Serins de Canarie," par 

 Hervieux (\7V.i).—,Sce p. 22. 



Albin's " Song-Birds " (1759).~Sec p. 

 27. 



The Canary 

 Islands. 



HABITATS OF THE CANARY 



The Canary Islands* were made known 

 to the Romans in Augustus' time, by Juba, 

 King of ^laiu-ctania, whose 

 account is given by the elder 

 Pliny, who states that at 

 this time they were uninhabited, and that 

 there were numerous birds : " Omnes copia 

 pomarum el (ivium. oinncs generis abundant,'''' 

 etc. (Plin. VI., C. .32). They were redis- 

 covered in 13;31. by a French vessel. In 

 1400 a Norman gentleman, Jean dc Bcthen- 

 court. sailed from Rochelle, landed at 

 Lanzarottc and Fuerteventura, but was 

 oj^posed by the natives. Having got a 

 grant of the islands from Henry III., he, 

 in llOl', mastered Fuerteventura, (iomera, 

 and Hierro, but was repidsed at Palma and 

 Canary. He returned home and died in 

 1408. His nephew sold his rights to Don 

 Enrique de Guzman, and he, failing to 

 overcome the nativ'es, sold them to another 

 Spaniard, Paraza. About 1461 his suc- 

 cessors took nominal possession of Canary 

 and TeneriiTe, but the natives effectually 

 resisted occupation. Meantime J. dc 

 Bethencourt's nephew had fraudtdcntly 

 made another sale to Poi'tugal. Finally 

 the islands were ceded to Sp:iiu. Canary, 

 TeneriiTe, and Palma being still unsubdued 

 in 1470, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain 

 com])elled Paraza's successors to sell the 

 islantls to the Crown. In 1477 one thou- 

 sand soldiers were sent out, and after nuicli 

 bloodshed tlie Spaniards, under Pedro de 

 Vera, became masters of Grand Canary 

 in 11-8.'}. Palma, in 1491, and TeneriiTe, 

 in It '.>."), were conciucred 

 Lugo. 



'I'iic approximate size 

 islands : — ■ 



Teneriffc, the largest : 



(irand Canary : 24 miles diameter. 



Palma : 26 by 16 miles. 

 • Mostly from K ncyclopcEdia liritannica. 



by Alonzo de 



of the main 



00 bv 30 miles. 



