CANARY BIRDS. 



We may look upon the "Canary" no longer as a strange 

 guest merely, but as a naturalised inhabitant. Although 

 the canary has only been taken from its home in the wild 

 state a little over 300 years, yet it is already to be found 

 among all the civilised nations of the globe. 



In Germany, however, it has attained a particular impor- 

 tance, first, because it appears in innumerable households as 

 a tenderly cared-for pet, and, secondly, because it is bred in 

 exceedingly large numbers, and has, in many parts of the 

 country, become an important article of exportation, and a 

 means of subsistence for many. 



The Ancestor, or Wild-Bird. — I begin with the 



description of the ancestor, the canary-bird in its wild state, 

 and shall preface my remarks with a communication of the 

 historical facts, taken chiefly from the excellent work by the 

 traveller and naturalist, Dr. Karl Bolle. 



History. — The oldest author who reports anything re- 

 garding the canary, is Conrad Gessner, whose book, " De 

 Avium Natura " (Nat. History of Birds), appeared in the 

 second half of the 16th century. He had not himself seen 

 the bird, but describes it iu accordance with the report of a 

 friend, and calls it " Canariam Aviculum," which has been 

 arbitrarily rendered " sugar-bird," because it was said that 

 this stranger was particularly fond of the sugar caue, and 

 because, as a matter of fact, he likes to eat sugar. 



