1^8 



THE CANARY. 



Fringilla cansria, Linn^us ; Le Serin de Canarie, Buffon ; Der Canarienvogel, 

 Bechstein. 



This pleasing bird had its origin in the pleasant climate and 

 delightful valleys of the Canary Islands, and is now spread 

 throughout Europe, part of Asia, and as far as Siberia. The 

 beauty of its form, its plumage, and its song, united with its 

 great docility, soon gained it admittance into the most mag- 

 nificent abodes, where every one delights in rearing and pre- 

 serving it, whilst the fairest hands are often eager to present 

 it with the most delicate food. It was brought into our cli- 

 mate as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century. The 

 arrival of the canary in Europe, is thus described : — A vessel, 

 which besides its merchandise was bringing a number of these 

 birds to Leghorn, was shipwrecked on the coast of Italy, oppo- 

 site the island of Elba, where these little birds, having been 

 set at liberty, took refuge. The climate being favourable, they 

 increased, and would certainly have become naturalised, had 

 not the wish to possess them occasioned their being caught in 

 such numbers, that at last they were extirpated from their 

 new country. From this cause Italy was the first European 

 country where the canary was reared. At first their educa- 

 tion was difficult, as the proper manner of treating them was 

 unknown ; and what tended to render them scarce was, that 

 only the male birds were brought over, no females. 



The grey of its primitive colour, darker on the back and 

 greener on the belly, has undergone so many changes from its 

 bemg domesticated, from the climate, and from the union with 

 birds analogous to it (in Italy with the citril finch, the serin ; 

 in our country with the linnet, the green finch, the siskin, and 

 the goldfinch), that now we have canaries of all colours. If 

 we had not sufficient proof that canaries came originally from 

 the Fortunate Islands, we should think the citril finch, the 

 serin, and the siskin, were the wild stock of this domesticated 

 race. I have seen a bird, whose parent birds were a siskin and 

 serin, which perfectly resembled a variety of the canary which 

 is (tailed the green. I have also seen mules from a female grey 

 canary, in which was no trace of their true parentage. The 



