226 BIRDS 



Silver, as yellow with buff. The young are green with 

 yellow cap, showing little resemblance to their parents. At 

 the first molt the spangling appears. As the flights and tail 

 are not shed at this time, they retain their original black 

 color. It is in this plumage that the Lizard is at its best. 

 At the next molt the feathers lose much of their brilliancy 

 and the sharpness of the spangling is destroyed. The flight 

 and tail feathers also become tipped with white. It is of 

 great interest to note that if any of the flights or tail 

 feathers are removed before their normal time, they are 

 replaced by others with white tips. 



The London Fancy, when in the nest plumage, is indis- 

 tinguishable from a young Lizard. At the first molt, how- 

 ever, the dark body feathers are replaced by deep yellow or 

 buff, as the case may be, while the flights and tail remain 

 pure black. This plumage lasts for a year only, the black 

 flights being displaced by grizzled, yellow ones at the 

 first adult molt. The London Fancy, for some reason, is 

 now very little bred, and must soon disappear if not speedily 

 revived. 



Canary Hybrids 



The production of hybrids, known as "mules," from 

 crosses of canaries with various other finches, is a pursuit 

 which has long fascinated keepers of cage birds. The birds 

 so produced are invariably sterile, and although they will 

 often pair and lay, no proof of their having produced young 

 has ever been set forth. The cocks are often handsomely 

 colored, and are exceptionally fine singers, combining the 

 wild notes of one parent with the free delivery of the other. 



The great ambition of mule breeders is to secure clear, 

 evenly marked or ticked birds. These have been produced 

 in small numbers in Goldfinch, Linnet and Siskin hybrids, 

 but such birds are practically unknown on this side. An 



