156 Canaries and Cage-Birds. 



The body-colour, or, as it is as frequently called, the ground-colour, can be best gauged by its 

 display on the breast, which is generally a pretty good index of the quality in this respect. It will 

 be obvious to all who have carefully read our remarks on the nature of the colour on the back of any 

 dark Self— a Cinnamon for instance— that that is not the best place to look for an exhibition of 

 ground-colour in a mass, the formation of the feathers of the back and the graduated colouring of 

 each being adverse to such display, though the educated eye soon detects the appearance of the 

 true shade in whatever place it appears. On the breast, where there is less of this graduated 

 shading than anywhere, and where what is present does not in any way affect the display as a 

 whole, there is, however, to be seen, delicately traced and softened down into hazy indistinctness, 

 something like rudimentary spangling, which takes a more definite form as it approaches the sides 

 and stretches away towards the region of the waist, where it not unfrequently seems to gather itself 

 up into dark stripes, all of which indicates possession of that species of feather which produces good 

 spangle. In those varieties of the Canary in which a " level " back is a desideratum, it will be seen 

 that the presence of these stripes is not desirable, since they are evidences of a disposition to 

 produce stripes or streaks, of which, remember, spangle is born, but uniform distribution of colour is 

 not. We do not regard this as a show-point, by any means, but we do not consider it in the light 

 of an objectionable feature. A bird appears more highly finished without such stripes, but they 

 are valuable landmarks to a breeder in selecting stock for any special purpose. 



So far we have referred to the colour of the Lizard only in general terms, and no further than 

 was necessary in sketching a brief outline of its usual character, without going into minute details 

 of individual parts in which colour, /^r se, plays a less important part than the distinctive character 

 of the feather. The bird, as it at present appears on our canvas, must therefore at this stage be 

 understood to be simply roughed out in the warm ground-colour we have indicated, and we will 

 now proceed to finish it in detail. 



Beginning with the head, we remark that it is one of the most important features in a good 

 Lizard, and, while having extreme neatness and finish, must also have good width of skull, in order 

 that it may show to the greatest advantage what is held by many fanciers to be the greatest 

 ornament of the bird, viz., the cap, which in a Golden Lizard is a patch of pure yellow, and in a 

 Silver pure buff, covering the crown. We cannot pass this beautiful feature without some remarks 

 as to its probable origin. We regard it entirely as a cultivated and not a native development. It 

 is the least constant feature in the bird, and is the most difficult point to manage. Sometimes it is 

 present in excess, at others in a very imperfect form^ and not unfrequently is entirely wanting. Its 

 erratic character is of itself, to our mind, sufficient evidence of its having been originally merely a 

 chance beauty-spot, captured and made the most of, and its presence is no more astonishing to us 

 than is the white top-knot on a black Poland fowl. Any feature may be made constant by following 

 out the principle of selection, though it may be a work of time and considerable difficulty, the 

 development and improvement of native features being more easy than the cultivation of sports, 

 which are apt to revert to their original form even under the most careful management, their whole 

 existence being a lifelong struggle of nature and art. Now, as to the colour of the cap, it will be 

 sufficient to say that just in proportion to the warmth of the ground-colour will be the richness of 

 the pure colour on the crown, which is no doubt only one form of development of the body-colour. 

 Just as a rich, bronzy. Green Norwich breaks into the purest Jonque, so will the same thing happen 

 in the Lizard, and as a natural consequence the paler the body, the paler will be the cap, and, in 

 the case of a very green body in which warmth of colour is wanting, the cap will be of a shade of 

 lemon instead of rich orange. In shape the cap should approach an oval form, though there 

 are almost as many opinions on this matter as these slightly varied forms, some liking to see it 



