168 THE CANARY. 



for studying its character, or rather the character and dispositions of the 

 different individuals of its species. It has been discovered that among them, 

 as among quadrupeds, and even man, some individuils are gay and others 

 melancholy ; some quarrelsome, others mild ; some intelligent, others 

 stupid ; some with quick memories, others lazy ; some greedy, others frugal ; 

 some petulant, others gentle ; some ardent, others cold. 



Its singing, as strong as varied, continues uninterrupted during the year, 

 excepting at the time of moulting, and even this exception is not general. 

 There are some individuals which sing also during the night*. 



Those which introduce into their melody some passages of the nightingale's 

 song are the most esteemed of all canaries ; they are called Tyrolean cana- 

 ries, because they are considered natives of the Tyrol, where they breed 

 many of these birds. The second are the English canaries, which imitate 

 the song of the woodlark. But in Thuringia the preference is generally 

 given to those which, instead of a succession of noisy bursts, know how, 

 with a silvery sonorous voice, to descend regularly through all the tones of 

 the octave, introducing from time to time the sound of a trumpet. There 

 are some males which, especially in the pairing season, sing with so much 

 strength and ardour that they burst the delicate vessels of the lungs, and 

 die suddenly. 



The female, particularly in the spring, sings also, but only a few uncon- 

 nected and unmusical sounds. Old ones which have done breeding often 

 sing in this way at all seasons. 



Canaries are particularly remarkable for quickness and correctness of ear, 

 for the great ease with which they exactly repeat musical sounds, and for 

 their excellent memory. Not only do they imitate all the birds in whose 

 neighbourhood they have been placed when young -f, mixing agreeably these 

 Bongs with their own, whence have arisen those beautiful varieties which 

 each family transmits to its descendants ; but they also learn to repeat cor- 

 rectly two or three airs of a flute or bird-organ, and even to pronounce dis- 

 tinctly some short words. Females also have been known to perform airs 

 •which they had been taught. 



I shall conclude this article on canaries by pointing out the best rules for 

 obtaining and preserving good singers. The most essential is to choose from 

 among the young that which promises a fine tone, and to seclude it from all 

 other birds, that it may learn and remember nothing bad. The same pre- 

 caution is necessary during the first and second moulting ; for being likely 

 to re-learn (if I may say so) its song, it would introduce into it Mith equal 

 ease foreign parts. It must be observed whether the bird likes to sing alone, 

 or in company with others, for there are some which appear to have such 

 whims, liking to hear only themselves, and which pout for whole years if 

 they are not humoured on this point. Others sing faintly, and display their 

 powers only when they can try their strength against a rival. It is very 



* Some do this naturally, others are taught it in their youth, by covering the cage 

 and keeping them in the dark during the day, long enough for them to be hungry ; 

 they are thus forced to eat by candle-light. Gradually they become accustomed to 

 this, and at last sing— Author. 



t Nothing is more delightful than to hear them imitate the song of the nightingale ; 

 I prefer those which have this talent, and 1 never fail to possess one. — Author. 



