92 C.Ah'ARIES AND CaGE-BiRDS. 



by delicate fingers that know no other handicraft. It is not to be wondered at that such sedentary 

 employment, carried on, too, under the domestic roof, should have a tendency to induce a love of 

 quiet home-pleasures ; and it is under such favourable auspices as these that the Norwich Canary 

 has for so many years been nurtured, till its fame has spread far and wide, and other towns vie 

 with the old cathedral city in producing the most perfect specimens. 



In size the bird is about that of a — Canary ! We never measured one, nor did we ever 

 have any tangible idea conveyed to our mind by any figures indicating such measurements. We 

 do not mean that if we read that such and such a bird measures a foot in length from the tip 

 of his beak to the tip of his tail we do not know the difference between that and six inches, 

 but a description we quote — "the Canary is about the size of a linnet, being five inches in length; 

 of which the tail measures two and a quarter ; the beak is five lines in length . . . the 

 legs . . . eight lines high" — though it may be strictly correct, conveys no more appre- 

 ciable idea to us than if we were told it was a medium-sized bird, rather smaller than a 

 sparrow, or about the stamp of the generality of Canaries we see in song-cages. We find it 

 difficult to confine ourselves to any set formula or conventional mode of description. It is a 

 plump, chubby bird, as opposed to length and slimness ; stoutly built, and of bold carriage ; quick 

 and active in its movements, and lusty in its song, and, when at rest, stands at an angle of about 

 forty degrees, measured from a base line drawn from the tip of the tail. The head should be 

 broad across the skull, and inclined to be flat rather than high and round. A bird with a small, 

 narrow head shows to poor advantage and has a peculiar expression when facing you, giving one 

 the idea of being out of drawing. The richest colour, too, is found on the crown, and the larger 

 the surface, the better the effect. No idea of coarseness should attach to it, but neatness and 

 elegance and delicate feathering should be its characteristics ; coarse feathering and overhanging 

 eyebrows indicate a cross in the direction of size, not bred out. The eye is dark, full, bright, and 

 sparkling ; the beak a clear pinkish-white, and free from discoloration, though the whole or half 

 of the upper mandible is sometimes dark. This is no disqualification, but ccsteris paribus, the clear 

 beak would win. We are speaking now of the "Clear" bird, which is one in which the whole 

 of the feathers are entirely free from any dark marks whatever. The discoloured mandible is 

 indicative of hidden marking somewhere or other, which should be searched for, for reasons which 

 will presently be explained. The neck is inclined to be short, the under part forming, in profile, 

 a perfect line of beauty with the breast, which should be broad and full, and feathered as smoothly 

 as it is possible to conceive. Any departure from either of these properties is a defect of some 

 moment. The back is broad, and rises very slightly immediately after the junction with the 

 neck, forming a very delicate curve, and must show most compact feathering without the slightest 

 disposition to open in the middle, which is not an uncommon feature in some varieties. Between 

 the shoulders it is slightly convexed. Look at the bird which way you will, its outlines present 

 a series of subtle curves of singular beauty — a feature common to all birds, in fact, the presence of a 

 hard line being nowhere to be found. The wings must be carried firmly closed, without a symptom 

 of drooping, and tucked in close to the body, the flights matching feather for feather on the back, 

 the primaries meeting in a point over the rump-feathers without overlapping each other. The closer 

 the flights are packed, the better will the colour of the wing show itself, as only the extreme outer 

 edge of each feather is tinged, and close lamination is necessary to maintain the continuity. The 

 same holds good with the arrangement of the larger coverts and the small feathers of the bastard 

 wing, any slovenliness here interfering most materially with the compact appearance indispensable 

 for the uniform distribution of colour throughout the entire member. The shoulders should 

 be v/ell covered by the scapular-feathers and show no projection of any kind, the feathering 



