HISTORY OF THE CANARY 



15 



Adanson's reference clearly points to 

 the occurrence of a grey variety, and 

 Buffon states : — 



" The grey kind are not of a uniform 

 colour ; some feathers are affected by 

 different shades, and some individuals are 

 of a lighter or of a darker tinge." 



THE WILD CANARY (SERtNUS CANARIA)" 



As we intend to trace the variations in 



plumage of the Canary from their origin, 



and endeavour to discover 



British their cause, it is important 



Museum 4. ■ ^i ^ 1 t 



Catalogue *° §^^'^ *'^^ accepted descrip- 

 Description. tion of the original wild bird. 

 In the Catalogue of Birds 

 in tlie British Museum, under " Serinus 

 Canaria," the following is given : — 



" Adult Male. — General colour above, ashy 

 brown washed with yellow and streaked with 

 blackish l)ro\vn down the centre of the feathers ; 

 rump, uniform olive yellow ; lesser wing coverts, 

 olive yellow ; median and greater coverts, 

 black, edged with yellow, the latter tipped with 

 whitish ; bastard-wing and primary coverts, 

 black, margined with ashy yellow ; quills, dark 

 brown, edged with ashy brown, tinged with 

 yellow on the primaries ; upper tail coverts, 

 ashy brown washed with olive yellow, with 

 darker brown centres ; tail feathers, dark brown 

 edged with ashy brown, tinged with yellow ; 

 crown of head, olive yellow, streaked with 

 blackish centres to the feathers and slightly 

 washed with ashy ; forehead, dull golden yel- 

 low ; eyelids and sides of face, dull golden 

 yellow, with a dusky streak across the lower ear 

 coverts ; cheeks, dull golden yellow with a 

 dusky malar stripe ; throat and under surface 

 of body, dull golden yellow ; the sides of the 

 upper breast, ashy grey ; the sides of the body 

 and flanks, more ashy and streaked with black, 

 more broadly on the latter ; lower abdomen, 

 thighs, and under tail coverts, whitish ; under 

 wing-coverts and axillaries, pale ashy, washed 

 with yellow ; quills below, dusky, ashy along 

 the inner edge. Total length, 4.55 inches ; cul- 

 men, 0.35 ; wing, 2.75 ; tail, 2.2 ; tarsus, 1.65." 



" Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but 

 a little browner, and having the yellow on the 

 forehead, sides of face, and under parts less 

 vivid. Total length, 4.6 inches ; culmen, 0.4 ; 

 wing, 2.6 ; tail, 2.1 ; tarsus, 0.65." 



" Both sexes more ashy in winter." 



* For coloured figure see my "Canary Breeding," 

 ■whicli also shows the evolution of the different 

 varieties. 



Writing in 1776, Pennant says : — 



" We once saw some small birds brought 



directly from the Canary 



_, ."^.* Islands that we susi^ect to 

 Description. ' 



be the genuine sort. They 

 were of a dull green colour, but as they did 

 not sing, Ave supposed them to be hens." 



Gesner's short description (p. 11) best 

 gives perhaps the general idea of the yellow- 

 ish-green bird, but the British Museum 

 detailed analysis is also important in 

 view of the colour variations we must 

 trace. 



Latham also states, from Humboldt : — 



" Canary finches in the neighbourhood 



of Orotave in Teneriffe said to be uniformly 



green, some with a yellow tint on their 



back." 



CINNAMON INHERITANCE 



As the earliest form of Cinnamon Canary 



was called the Dun, or Quaker, and was 



closely allied to the grey and 



Cinnamon cinnamon types of pallid 



Sports. . . -'^ . ■■, , 



variation occurring in wild 



birds of the present day, it is necessary, in 

 order to understand subsequent variations, 

 to give some information concerning cin- 

 namon sports and cinnamon inheritance 

 generally. 



As this has for many years been the 

 puzzle of the fancy, it may be well to state 

 as shortly as possible the known pecu- 

 liarities of cinnamon inheritance before 

 adding any fresh information. 



Cinnamon colour of plumage in young 

 birds can be obtained only by using a cin- 

 namon, or cinnamon-bred, cock. 



If a cock ha\ing no known cimiamon 

 blood be mated to a self-cinnamon hen, the 

 young have no cinnamon feathers. 



If a cinnamon or cinnamon-bred cock 

 be mated to a hen with no known cinna- 

 mon blood, all the young which show any 

 cinnamon feathers are hens. 



In addition to these facts, I have during 



the season 1908 ascer- 



Recent tallied, from experiment 



Experiments. „ . 



and examination ol past 



records, the following facts : — 



