240 CANARY BIRDS. 



ralist, for one having attained to the age of twenty- 

 three years*; at last it grew so infirm that the people to 

 whom it belonged were obliged to scrape its beak and 

 claws, that it might eat, drink, and sit upon its perch. 

 It had subsisted on poppy-seeds chiefly, and had lost its 

 power of flying, and all its feathers had become white, 

 which is contrary to what has been usually observed 

 in aged small birds, whose plumage at times assumes a 

 darker shade, particularly if fed much upon hemp-seed. 

 Thus there are instances of Goldfinches, Bullfinches, 

 and Larks, becoming almost entirely black. 



So nearly allied are Canaries to Goldfinches that they 

 will breed together, and the produce is a very pretty 

 bird (called a Mule), with a strong clear voice which, in 

 addition to its scarcity, causes it to be much valued, and 

 commands a high price. And yet, nearly connected as 

 they are, the Canary is entirely of foreign origin, being 

 a native of the Canaries (from whence they took their 

 name), a cluster of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, near 

 the coast of Africa. They are very indifferent flyers, 

 which may account for their never having migrated like 

 other birds, and been thus occasionally found in their 

 wild state in other countries. They accordingly for a 

 long time remained unknown in Europe; indeed it was 

 not till the enterprising reign of Queen Elizabeth, about 

 three hundred years ago, when so many of our now 

 common fruits and vegetables, such as nectarines, pota- 

 toes, &c., and even poultry, such as turkeys, &c., first 

 found their way into England, that Canaries were intro- 

 duced; and they were then for a time so prized and 

 scarce, that none but the most wealthy could purchase 

 them. But the desire of having them seems rapidly to> 

 have spread, for not long after, the Spaniards found 

 them so profitable a trade, that an order was issued for 

 either destroying all the hens that were taken, or set- 

 ting them at liberty that the breed might be confined to 

 the islands. The trade in Canary birds is now much 



* Gesner. 



