HYBRIDS BETWEEN TWO BRITISH BIRDS 



363 



resjiective parents. For instance, a good 

 GoUlfincli-Biillfiuch must have a large, 

 rich, brilliant coloured blaze after that of 

 the Goldfinch, with a tint of the Bullfinch's 

 vermilion. The further the rich flush 

 runs down on to the breast the better, as 

 it thus shows the blending of the two 

 jjarents to greater perfection. Size without 

 blaze is useless. 



Then, again, a Linnet-Bullfinch must 

 have the rich vermilion tint of the cock 

 Bullfinch on the breast ; the more brilliant 

 this colour, in conjunction with other 

 inarking, the better. The Goldfinch- 

 Redpoll must have a large, rich blaze 

 akin to that of the Goldfinch, just as the 

 Siskin-Greenfinch and the Red])oll-Sis]cin 

 Hybrids must display the colour of both 

 parents to a marked degree on various 

 ])arts of their body. The same thing applies 

 through the whole race of Hybrids ; we 

 must have the leading features of the 

 parents shown in happy contrast ; get 

 size with them, but size without them is 

 iiseless. Our intention is simply to give 

 our readers in the usual tabulated form 

 some idea of the relative worth of the 

 parts which go to make up an interesting 

 whole, attaching to each a value which 

 will leave sufficient margin for a sub- 

 tractive process, so that the scale of points 

 can be equally applied to all Hybrids bred 

 from two British birds. 



Scale of Points for Judging Hybrids Bred from 

 TWO British Birds 



Points of Merit 



Maximum 

 Colour. — For richness, good marking, and 

 brilliancy willi tlic prominent colonrs 

 of bolli parents well developed . . 30 



Feather. — For smooth compactness and fine 



silky quality. ..... 20 



lilaximum 

 Shape. — Well developed, proportionate with 



parentage . . . . . .15 



Size. — For good size in accordnnce witli 



parentage ...... 15 



Condition. — Health, cleanliness, sound feather, 



and steadiness ..... 20 



Total 100 

 Negative Properties 

 A Hybrid should not be small in accordance with 

 its kind, nor crouch on its perch, or be unsteady in 

 its show-cage. Nor should its blending of colour be 

 blurred or indistinct to raise doubts as to its parentage. 

 It should not have any deformity or broken or other- 

 wise damaged feathers. Hybrids of the Goldfinch 

 cross must not be poor in blaze, or those of the 

 Bullfinch lack the rich breast tint of the cock buU- 

 linch or orange red ; or those of the Siskin cross be 

 lacking in the breast colour of that bird. 



As regards getting Hybrids steady and 

 accustomed to the show cage, and washing 

 and exhibiting them, be they bred from 

 two British birds, or a British bird and 

 Canary, our instructions on these points 

 for Canaries are equally applicable to 

 Hybrids, and will be found in Chapter XIV. 

 The show cages for Hybrids are of similar 

 shape to the Norwich show cage illustrated 

 on page 175. For the Goldfinch-Bullfinch 

 and Hybrids of similar size, the show cage 

 should be the same size as that used for 

 the Norwich Canary. 



For the Goldfinch-Redpoll, Siskin-Red- 

 poll, and Hybrids of similar size, the 

 cage should be a size smaller, and a little 

 more closely wired, the wires being half- 

 inch apart, the water holes, too, may be 

 made round if preferred. For those 

 Hybrids of which the Goldfinch or Bull- 

 finch is one of the parents Brunswick 

 green enamel answers well for the inside 

 of the show cage and black outside, but 

 for other Hybrids mid-green enamel answers 

 well for the insides and black outside. 



