'24 CANARIES AND CAGE-BIRDS. 



oldest blood, and, although unlike in appearance, are closely allied. This is proven 

 by the fact that both breeds of birds, when nestlings, resemble one another very 

 closely : after shedding the first feathers, the appearance is, however, widely dif- 

 ferent. The London Fancy male bird, when in full plumage, should have the 

 entire head, breast, and back of the same colors as those of the mealy, or buff, 

 Norwich, with wings and tail black or dark green : this variety of bird is not so 

 stoutly built as the Norwich ; he is more slender and elegant in shape. He is not 

 so popular at present as the Norwich, owing to the energy displayed in breeding 

 the latter, and the greater care which is required to breed the London Fancy in 

 all his perfection of markings. 



The Gold and Silver Spangled Lizards are justly in the foremost rank of 

 " feather " birds in their native country: they certainly present a most beautiful 

 appearance in their gayly decked spangles, and clear, shining gold or silver caps. It 

 is claimed that the Lizard is the direct offshoot of the original green Canary of the 

 Canary Islands, and, by the careful and judicious selection of strains, the clearly 

 defined spangles were finally obtained. The Lizard is mentioned as the spangled 

 bird in the oldest known treatise of birds we have. The color-line in the Lizard 

 breed is strictly drawn between the Gold and Silver ; the spangles in either case 

 being overcast throughout with the rich gold of the Norwich birds, or the silver of 

 the mealy class. The Gold-spangled Lizard is the favorite of this class, as his 

 richer colors are much more striking. The most important point in the selection 

 of a good Lizard is perfection of the head. The cap of the bird is one of his dis- 

 tinctive features. A perfect cap must be bounded by a line commencing at the tip 

 of the beak, and passing over the tip of the eye, round to the back of the head, in 

 the same plume, and returning in the same way on the other side : it must not come 

 lower than the eyes, and the boundary-line at this part should be a hair-line of 

 clearly defined feathers. The cap is clear in color, and may be either clear yellow or 

 light gray, which defines the class to which the bird belongs. The color of the cap 

 also regulates the color on the body, and the tinge which overcasts the spangles 

 will always be found to be of the same color as that of the cap. The outline of the 

 cap must be clear and unbroken, and its entire surface free from a tinge of dark 

 feathers. The slightest intrusion of dark feathers on the cap constitutes the class 

 called broken caps, and any intrusion of the cap itself into the dark feathers of the 

 neck is called the run cap. The classes are more familiarly known, however, as 

 the plain and broken caps. The spangled appearance of the birds is caused by the 

 development of the feather. A description of the feather of the Lizard Canary will 

 explain the cause of the peculiar appearance of the plumage. The soft, silky por- 

 tion of the feather next the quill is blue black ; as the feather grows outward, the 

 color changes, the centre becomes blackish brown tinged with a lighter shade, 

 the central color increasing in. depth till it reaches nearly to the extremity of the 

 feather, where it expands into a circular form, and is nearly as black as possible ; 

 the edging of the extremity of the feather is fringed with a very narrow bordering 

 of the same color of the cap, which may be either gold or silver. The lapping of 

 the feathers over one another where so many shades of color are observable consti- 

 tutes the appearance of spangling : the shorter feathers, as those of the head and 

 breast, are more closely spangled than the longer feathers of the wing. In perfect 



