176 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



the outside of ;ill bcinu' black, as lor the 



Noi'wich. 



On this page we give the recognised 



show-cage I'or Crests and Crestbreds. It 

 will be oljservcd that it is 

 (iT the same shape as the 



Norwich show-cage, but larger, on acco\int 



of the size of the bird. Its dimensions 



Crest Cages. 



SHOW-CAGE FOR CRESTS AND CRESTBREOS. 



are 13 inches long. Ill inches high. an<l 

 5 inches deep I'rom back to I'ront. out- 

 side measurements. Again, some makers 

 may vary the size a ^ inch. The wire 

 cross-bar, on wiiich the perches rest, is 

 also lower in this cage, to enable the crested 

 birds to get on their perches without diili- 

 cultv. Low ])erches also have another 

 advantagi' : they ))erniit i>\ a lull view of 

 the expanse ol' crest, and also show olT to 

 greater ;i.dviintagc the large heads ol' 

 Crestbreds. 'I'lie wnlci- Inilc in this cage 

 is necessarily much largi'r. so that no 

 damage or disarraiigcnieiit of tin' crest 

 leathers may occur when the birds drink. 

 Some laucicrs show Crests and Crest- 

 breds in a siuiilar cage, but with the front 

 portion of the cage top ina.de of wire to a 

 depth of '2 inches tiack insti'ad of wood, 

 tlie top of tile wire front being bent o\-ei' 

 thus: C- a,iid let into the narrower wood 

 on t ()]>. These cages do not protect t he birds 

 from water t)r soiled seed ilro|)])ed fi'om cages 

 above so well as the all-wood top. and they 

 can be seen e(|ua,ll\ well ui the recognised 

 cage which we illustrate. I ledge-sparrow 

 egg blue answers well h)r the colour of the 

 inside, the outside and wires lieiug black. 



Uoul)le cages are also made, in which to 

 show i)airs of this variety. They are 

 just twice the length of the single ones, 

 with a wire partition in the centre, a water 

 hole in each com]!artment. and a door at 

 each end. as in tlie Xorwicli cage. Such 

 a cage is essential in jiair classes for this 

 N'aricty. as the wire ])artition ])revents 

 any ])ossibility of a bird's crest being 

 dan. aged by the other, as a uiouthfid or 

 two of feathers taken out will ruin a crest 

 for show ])urposes for at least six weeks, 

 until the feathers have grown again. 



Birds of position have an entirely dif- 

 ferent iiattern of show-cage, the entire to]) 

 jxn-tion being all wire. \\ ith 

 Cages for ^ wooden bottom and b-auie- 

 work round. On this page 

 is tlie latest ])attt'ru of a 

 Helgian show-cage, largely used by exhi- 

 liitors of the IJclg'au Canary and adopted 

 l^y the I'mted Kingdom Belg'an Canary 

 Assoc'ation as their standard show-cage. 

 It is nu;ch neater and lighter tlian the 

 old clumsy dome-sliaped cage in use many 

 years since, and sliows the l)irds oil" 

 ctpiallv well. Tliis cage measures '.) inches 



Birds of 

 Position. 



HI ICUAN SUOWCAGE. 



long. .">.', inches wide, and l'_>i- inches 

 hiyh. which height includes the woocien 

 legs. 2 inches in lengtli. on which the 

 cage stands. 



