548 
CANARY BIRD. Crass II. | 
bable then, that our fpecies was not introduced 
into Europe till after the fecond difcovery of thefe 
ifles, which was between the thirteenth and four- 
teenth centuries. We are uncertain when it firft 
made its appearance in this quarter of the globe. 
Belon, who wrote in 1555, is filent in refpe€t to 
thefe birds: Ge/ner* is the firft who mentions them ; 
and Aldrovand+ fpeaks of them as rarities; that 
they were very dear on account of the difficulty at- 
tending the bringing them from fo diftant a coun- 
try, and that they were purchafed by people of 
rank alone. Olmat fays, that in his time there 
was a degenerate fort found on the ifle of Elba, 
off the coaft of Italy, which came there originally 
by means of a fhip bound from the Cazaries to Leg- 
horn, and was wrecked on that ifland. We once 
faw fome fmall birds brought directly from the Ca- 
nary Iflands, that we fufpe&t to be the genuine fort; 
they were of a dull green color, but as they did 
not fing, we fuppofed them to be hens. Thefe 
birds will produce with the goldfinch and linnet, 
and the. offspring is called a mule-bird, becaufe, 
like that animal, it proves barren. 
* Gefner av. 240. 
4+ Aldr, av. I. 355. 
t Okna uccel. 7. 
