THE CANARY. 291 



in different birds. It should also be noticed whether the bird 

 prefers to sing alone, or in company. Many birds are so self- 

 willed as never to sing except they can display their vocal 

 powers alone, while the song of others is always soft and low, 

 except when excited to rivalry by hearing the performance of 

 a neighbour. Another very important particular to be attended 

 to, not only in the case of Canaries, but of all Cage-birds, is to 

 give them their allotted portion of food every day ; for if too 

 large a supply be given them at once, the result is, that they 

 pick out the best at first, and leave the rest for another day, 

 which impairs their vocal powers. Four tea-spoonsful of 

 the dry food above described, is sufficient for the daily supply 

 of each bird ; and whatever they leave, may be given to the 

 other birds of the aviary, which are fed on the universal paste, 

 as an agreeable change. 



ADDITIONAL. The date of the first introduction of the Canary 

 into England is not exactly known. GESNEE, who wrote in 1585, 

 makes mention of it ; and ALDEOVANDTJS, in his Ornithology, 

 printed at Frankfort in the year 1610, gives the first good de- 

 scription of the bird (vide vol. ii. p. 355). WILLOUGHBY, in his 

 History of Birds, speaks of Canaries as common enough in his 

 time. Writers seem generally to concur in supposing that their 

 original colours were green and yellow. PENNANT says that he 

 once saw some small birds brought directly from the Canary 

 Isles, which were said to be the genuine sort ; they were of a 

 dull green colour, but as they did not sing, were suspected to be 

 hens. ME. DAINES BAEEINGTON also records having seen two 

 birds which came from the same quarter, neither of which had 

 any song at all, and he was informed that many others were 

 afterwards brought from thence with the same defect. Accord- 

 ing to the accounts of navigators, there are birds in the Canary 

 Isles with a sweet and lively song ; but whether they allude to 

 this particular species or not, we cannot tell. On the whole, it 

 seems likely that the melodious strain which this beautiful song- 

 ster pours forth from cage and aviary, is in a great measure arti- 

 ficial. The bird is remarkable for its imitative powers, and great 

 pains are usually taken in the education of the little musician, so 

 that we have really no opportunity of judging what its " native 

 wood notes wild" are like. BUFFON draws a parallel, or rather 

 a contrast, between this bird and the Nightingale. " If," says 

 he, " the Nightingale is the chau-ntress of the woods, the Canary 

 is the musician of the chamber. The first owes all to nature'; 

 the second derives something from our arts : with less strength. 



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