i82 CANARIES 



shire, but not so massive as the Lancashire. It will, 

 therefore, readily be gathered that it is a bold and com- 

 manding bird. Its head is large and full, something 

 between that of the Yorkshire and Lancashire, its neck 

 is very long and full, its shoulders are large and well 

 rounded, but not so high as those of the Belgian ; its 

 chest is deep through and very prominent, the back 

 is long and fairly wide, its legs are long and straight hke 

 those of the Yorkshire, and the thighs should be well set 

 in the body, its tail and flights are of great length and 

 both must be well braced and compact, the carriage of a 

 first-class specimen is bold and erect. 



The most striking feature of the Dutch Frill is its 

 feathering, its breast feathers curl and twist inward, 

 forming a series of frills, the feathers on the back are 

 divided and spread over the sides of the bird, on the top 

 of each thigh there is a bunch of loose feathers which 

 project outward and downward. These are styled side- 

 fins, and long fine feathers drop from the root of the tail 

 over the bottom of lower part of the body. 



The colours are as in other breeds, yellow and buff 

 divided into clears, ticked, variegated, and green. It is 

 said that the variegated and green birds are the strongest. 

 That I cannot vouch for, but certainly they are more 

 handsome, and generally speaking are larger than the 

 clear and ticked birds. 



A Strange Peculiarity. 



There is one peculiarity that the Dutch Frilled Canaries 

 have in common with the frizzled fowls and bantams, 

 and Frillback pigeons. In damp, dull weather the 

 feather loses its curl. The best time to see any of these 

 peculiarly feathered birds is on a warm, bright 

 summer afternoon when the feather appears to be twisting 

 back to its extreme limit. 



In the breeding of Dutch Frills whilst it is advisable 

 to pair together the very best specimens so far as shape, 

 size and carriage are concerned it is not wise to put the 

 heaviest feathered together. Better results being obtained 

 by having one bird as profusely leathered as possible, 

 and the other rather sparsely feathered. This way 



