CHAPTER XII. 



THE CRESTED NORWICH. 



The " Crested " Norwich takes its name from the topping or crest which adorns its head. The 

 name by which it was known in olden times, and is still sometimes called, even in the city 

 of Norwich itself, is the "Turncrown," but the word is now nearly exploded. It was originally 

 used to denote any kind of crested Canary, and not the Norwich variety in particular ; for 

 the turncrown, topping, or crest is a feature of old date, and is common enough among the 

 German song-birds. It is a most striking feature, which, when well developed, cannot fail to 

 impress with its imposing appearance, and is just one of those things we should naturally 

 expect would catch the eye of a fancier when in, perhaps, but an imperfect form, and 

 on which he would expend some pains to build it up to his ideal standard ; and we 

 might search far for a better illustration of the fancier's work, as distinct from that of the 

 naturalist. The crest, once permanently fixed and decided in its character, would soon attract 

 attention and be transplanted or grafted into more than one variety, prominent among which 

 stands the Norwich, on which it has been so carefully worked, and so long cultivated, as to 

 have become an established, recognised variety. We also find the crest existing elsewhere under 

 its old name of " Coppy ; " and though of late years communication between remote places 

 has opened up fresh fields for the breeder and induced an influx of foreign blood into different 

 varieties for one purpose or another, and the Coppy has travelled from Manchester to Norwich, 

 we do not in any way regard it as the plant from which the original scions were taken ; for 

 both it and the Norwich Turncrown must have flourished coincidently for a long period while 

 the existence of each was scarcely known to the other. The bird of the present day is more 

 of a made-up type than the old Norwich Turncrown, which is seldom seen now. It is not so very 

 many years ago since some very beautiful crested birds used to be bred in the old city, and 

 though they did not show a great deal of colour, still they were essentially true to the type in shape 

 and feather. It is this absence of colour that may have led to the supposition that these old 

 Turncrowns were of inferior blood, or were some common strain, which, rejoicing in a good crest, 

 was used as a means of producing crest-formation among the higher class of birds ; but it is more 

 than probable that the old crest-breeders were obliged to relinquish colour in following up good 

 strains, and that although there frequently is such a disparity between the colour of the Plain- 

 headed and the Crested strains, they may, after all, be not so distantly related as we have 

 imagined, and the crest or turncrown may have been a native feature. 



Of late years a great effort has been made to improve the style of these birds by importing 

 good crest from any and every available source, the object being, after having bred in the crest, 

 to breed out all those points in which the offspring differ from the high-bred Norwich stem upon 

 which the crest is grafted ; and in doing this considerable judgment and care are required to 

 ensure success. A really high-class specimen — i.e., one showing high Norwich properties and at the 

 same time a good crest — is the exception to the rule, as it appears to be a work of infinite labour 

 to maintain an even balance of crest and colour properties. The desire for size and good shape of 

 crest presents a temptation to cross in v;ith almost any description of bird having these qualities in 



