176 CANARIES 



about eight inches, although exceptionally grand specimens 

 will sometimes measure a trifle over eight inches ; the head 

 should be large, both in width and length, and fairly flat, 

 the eyes well browed with feather, giving the bird a ferocious 

 appearance ; the beak small and well set ; a long beak 

 spoils the appearance of the head, making it look thin and 

 snipy. The neck should be long, straight, and massive, 

 being well fiUed all round ; the shoulders must be broad 

 and well filled, yet not in any way prominent hke those 

 of the Belgian Canary. The back should be long, broad 

 and straight, but a perfectly straight back is seldom seen, 

 most specimens being slightly curved in the back, es- 

 pecially when they excel in length. The yellows are, as a 

 rule, straighter than the buffs. The breast should be full 

 and prominent ; the under part of the body long, and 

 tapering away towards the tail, which should be long 

 and straight, full and compact, not loosely made. The 

 wings should be long and tightly braced ; slovenly 

 carriage of wings spoils many an otherwise good bird. 

 The legs should be long aud massive, not showing too 

 much thigh, and well set, or the bird will present a stilty 

 appearance, which detracts greatly from its value, and 

 spoils the erect and graceful carriage which is a great 

 feature in a well-bred specimen of the variety. 



In body this description is applicable to both the 

 Plainhead and the Coppy as excepting the head they are 

 alike, but the head in the Coppy is adorned with a crest, 

 closely and flatly packed ; it should come well over the 

 beak and eyes ; from behind the eyes it should finish off 

 merging into the feathers at the back of the head without 

 any break or deficiency of feathering. The centre of the 

 coppy should have an opening about the size of a pin's 

 head ; this centre should be clear and well defined, and 

 from it the feathers of the coppy should radiate in a unit or- 

 form manner over the beak and eyes. 



Size, shape, carriage, and density of feather the Lan- 

 cashire must have, these are its cardinal points; if in 

 addition it has quality and tightness of feather and colour 

 it is all the more valuable, but colour not being a great 

 asset in the make-up of the Lancashire it has been neg- 

 lected and has been lost, as has quality of feather, 

 and possibly it is due to its lack of colour and quaUty 

 that the breed has decreased in popularity. 



