274 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



variety is to llnurisli. 'i'lic various iiuirk- 

 infjs and colours liavc been produced, and 

 it is our duty to endeavour to perpetuate 

 and fix tiieni. 



Tlic admired cf)lour in Dark Crests is a 

 blackish green margin or I'ringc and a black 

 midrib, commonly known as a '" veined " 

 crest. The body should be of stout build, 

 similar to the Norwich, but larger, short, 

 full neck, and heavily feathered, though 

 close, the bird standing well across the 

 perch on short legs, with a firm connnand 

 of its body. It is also desirable that the 

 beak be small and neat, wliicli gives a good 

 finish to the front of the head and crest. 



In classifying tlic t'rcst we give seven 

 distinct classes of colour or marking, but 

 if Yellows were bred in a like nundier to 

 Buffs the same number of classes could be 

 allotted to them, as we have similar mark- 

 ing in Yellows and Buffs, which woidd 

 make fourteen classes alone for Crests, 

 and these could be further sub-divided by 

 liaving separate classes for cocks and 

 hens. Therefore breeders will sec what 

 a large field for cultivation is open to them. 

 At the present time the most extended 

 classification given at a few shows is (a) 

 Buff, clear body, with clear, grey, or dark 

 crest; (b) BufT, any other variety, crested, 

 cock, whicii includes evenly-marked, un- 

 eveidy-maiked. vareigated, and green ; 

 {(•) Buff-crested lien other than clear body ; 



(d) Yellow-crested cock, any colour crest ; 



(e) Yellow-crested hen, any colour crest ; 

 (/) Crests any colour, current y( ai- bied. 



The washing and dressing of crests will 

 be found dealt with in Chaptei- XI\'. 



\Ve have next to considei' the Crest- 

 bred I'Iniiiiiead of the variety uiider eon- 

 siileration. 'I'liis is now jusl 



T"^ .. , as important an cNJiibition 

 Crestbred, ' 



bird as the Crest, nllhough 



formeri\- it was not recognised as sueli, 

 classes being allotted to it for the first 

 time at the Crystal Palace .Siiow in ISS.S, 

 prior to which dale any of these birds had 

 to com])ete in the "Any Other Variety (»f 

 Canary " class. This recognition caused 

 more attention to be paid to the Crestbred 

 in the brecdinu-room, and r(suil<-d in 



greater development of head and denser 

 and longer head-feather points, which have 

 assisted in the development of our Crests 

 to a marked degree. 



The Crestbred, like the Crest, should be 

 of massive build, thick-set body, like the 

 Norwich Plainhcad, but larger ; feather in 

 abvmdancc lying as close to the body as 

 possible, though it is next to impossible to 

 get it as close as that of the Norwich, owing 

 to its great length. Some feathers \\liich 

 we have taken from the sides and Hanks of 

 our own birds measure from 2| to 2^ 

 inches long, and we have measured botly 

 feathers from other breeders' birds ecpially 

 as long. Like the Crest, the head of a 

 Crestbred is of more importance than the 

 body, in fact a Crestbred without the right 

 head and head-feather is no Crestbred at 

 all, no matter how densely clothed the body 

 may be with long feather. It is practically 

 impossible to get the necessary head- 

 feather without a corresponding abimdance 

 of body-feather. The head should be 

 large and broad, and the entrance to the 

 skull over the base of the beak wide, in 

 a good s))ecimen coming to an abrupt stoji, 

 the feather rising suddenly from the very 

 commencement of its growth owing to the 

 denseness and length of feather at the 

 base of the beak. This Mow of feather 

 should gradually ex|)ati(l in width as it 

 falls gracefully o\cr the skull to the back 

 of the head, its di'usity causing it to fall 

 o\( r the eyes at tln' sides, giving the bird 

 a frowning a])])earance, called by fanciers 

 "lashing" or " bi'ow ing "" ; it almost 

 covers the eyes like a crest. This falling 

 of the feather over the sides of the head 

 gives a more expansi\e appcai'ance to the 

 skull, finishing off gi-acefully \\ith a. won- 

 derlul expanse at the back of the |)oll, a 

 short neat beak intensirying the henuty 

 of the massive shapely skull, a shape 

 ])eculiarly this bird's own. A glance at the 

 illustration on page 28;J will con\cy to 

 the i'c:id(r the accuracy ol our dcscripl ion 

 of ;i good Crestbred. 



'I'lic usual classification of Cicslbreds at 

 some of our best exhibitions is («) Yellow 

 cock or hen; (li) Bull cock, clear ticked or 



