318 The Canary Book. 



A bird of this variety should be large in size, and should 

 resemble the Norwich Fancy in shape, being full in the body 

 and head, deep and broad in the chest, short in the legs, 

 wide across the shoulders, and not too long in the tail. The 

 crest, however, is by far the most important feature, and 

 next to this, contour, colour, quality of feather, and con- 

 dition. The crest should be round, oval, or shield-shaped, 

 that is wider at the back than the front; the latter being 

 the true Norwich type of crest. 



Some fanciers, as well as judges, prefer one kind and 

 some another. All of them look well, provided they are properly 

 formed, free from faults, and are well and artistically 

 finished. I think, however, that those which are full and 

 round in the front and square at the back with the cowl are 

 the most telling, as they appear much larger than a round 

 or oval crest finished close off at the back of the bird's head. 

 A good crest of any form should be broad and long in the 

 front, come well over the eyes, and drooping with regularity 

 all round : some crests stand off and do not droop, and are 

 in the form of a flat button ; this makes the crest look very 

 wide. I do not despise a bird with a crest of this sort, if it 

 is perfectly flat and well formed. 



Those who have had much experience in breeding crested 

 birds must know that it is quite as difficult to get a good 

 well-finished back crest as it is to get a long broad-frontal 

 crest; hence, when a bird is possessed of both these quali- 

 ties, it must be of greater value than a bird which possesses 

 only one of them. For my part, I breed both kinds, and can, 

 therefore, readily appreciate the difference. 



A bird shown by the Messrs. Mackley, of Norwich, in the 

 year 1883, at Dudley (in the Evenly-marked class), where it 

 obtained second prize, and at the Crystal Palace (in the 

 Unevenly-marked class), where it obtained first prize, was a 

 grand example of the type of crested birds I advocate, and 

 unless he has been beaten since, is probably the best crested 

 bird living, including every variety of crested Norwich canary. 

 His crest is, in my opinion, simply perfection, and his back 



