THE CINNAMON CANARY 



^53 



we can compare it with, and we arc not 

 surprised at the name "Dun"' being then 

 given to it. 



We ha\-e heard it said that by breeding 

 from Greens, selecting those with the 

 brownest tinge and following \\p the work 

 closely, the result will be Cinnamons, and 

 have also read some account of work carried 

 out in this way, the end of which was 

 alleged to have been the advent of Cinna- 

 mons ; but we entirely discard all such 

 theories : no combination will produce 

 them. We should be sorry to dispute the 

 fact of Cinnamons having been born from 

 a pair of Greens, but there was gold in the 

 crucible to begin with : Cinnamon blood 

 lurked in the veins of the Cirecn to a 

 certainty. 



What may have been the origin of this 



Canary, as a variety, we can only surmise ; 



but that it is a dis- 



Cinnamon ^j,^^.^ variety, its peculiar 



Characteristics. . -'. ' 



characteristics not com- 

 mon to other Canaries, and certain native 

 properties not elsewhere discoverable 

 which seem to cling to it in spite of the 

 endless crosses to which it has been sub- 

 jected, abundantly testify. Most promi- 

 nent among these is the pink eye, which 

 no other Canary, not having Cinnamon 

 lilood in its veins, possesses. That the 

 bird is traceable to the connnon stock we 

 nuist take for granted, and we think its 

 distinctive plumage is referable to the 

 peculiarity many wild birds possess of 

 assuming a cinnamon garb. This is by 

 no means a feature of rare occurrence with 

 many of our indigenous birds, such as the 

 Jackdaw, Starling, Blackbird, Goldfinch, 

 Greenfinch, Redpoll, Skylark, Sandmartin, 

 and others ; and this colour may have been 

 prized and perpetuated in the case of this 

 Canary by the selection of those bearing 

 it, and Dr. Galloway, in Chapter II. of 

 this work, confirms our views on this point 

 with some excellent illustrations. 



The Cinnamon varietj', when fixed, 

 having probably little to recommend it 

 beyond the unobtrusive singularity of its 

 originally homely plumage, would not 

 become a very popular favourite, and so 



The PinR 

 Eye. 



would remain comparatively unrecognised 

 and be thrown into the shade by the more 

 strikingly beautiful varieties which en- 

 grossed the attention of the fanciers of a 

 century ago. Indeed, the bird appears 

 to have been regarded with disfavour 

 rather than otherwise ; why, we are puzzled 

 to know. 



In a very old book lying before us, con- 

 taining a deal of sound information on 

 Canary matters, but which 

 unfortunately has neither 

 back nor title-page (and we 

 are not sufficiently versed in bibliography 

 to fix its date), it is said, in a very quaint 

 phraseology, in speaking of the different 

 varieties and referring particularly to the 

 pink eye, the hall-mark of the Cinnamon : — 



" Some are all Yellow, which are Cocks, 

 Some the Colour of BulT, & some of an Ash Colour. 

 Some have Red Eyes, & the Cocks of this Sort 

 Sing as well as Others, but the Hens are good for 

 Nothing at all, being always Dim Sighted, and can 

 not See to Feed their Young Ones (if Ever they 

 Should have Any) and so Starve the Whole Nest." 



Brehm also says : " Such as have red eyes 

 are weak " ; and Bechstein speaks of 

 Canaries which '' have often red eyes and 

 are not strong." True, neither Brehm nor 

 Bechstein refers the red eye directly to the 

 Cinnamon : but we know that none other 

 has it, for although in some instances not 

 a trace of a single cinnamon-coloured 

 feather is to be found in certain pink- 

 eyed birds, yet they are to all intents and 

 purposes Cinnamon in character, having 

 all the peculiar traits found only in the 

 family. There seems to be some doubt 

 also as to what was meant by " ash- 

 coloured " Canaries, though wc take it to 

 mean dove-coloured. 



Our experience of the Cinnamon Canary 

 is that it is neither short sighted nor more 

 weakly than any other high-class Canary, 

 that it is a prolific breeder, and the hens 

 as a rule are good mothers. 



Hervieux, in his work translated and 

 published in London in 1718, speaks of 

 " Ash-colour Canary-birds with red eyes," 

 and also " Buff-colour Canary-birds with 

 red eyes "' ; though he afterwards connects 



