MARKS OF AGE. 



95 



latter usually examine the full-fledged birds at the rump and 

 form their opinion as to sex accordingly ; for the " tenon " 

 of the male is clearly developed, and protrudes in an oblong 

 rotundity with a perceptible leaning to the front, while that 

 of the female is less prominent, broader, and inclining more 

 towards the back, The bird is held in the palm of the 

 hand, laid on its back, and the feathers are softly blown 

 asunder. This sign is tolerably reliable even with some 

 other birds, and possibly with all, excepting those which are 

 very fat, nor can it be perceived while the birds are moult- 

 ing, or shortly afterwards. To the inexperienced eye, the 

 detection of those marks is, as already observed, a difficult 

 task, and they can be known only after numerous experi- 

 ments and comparisons. If, on the other hand, it be 

 attempted to distinguish them according to colour only, one 

 is exposed to the well-known fraud of fancy dyeing. Expert 

 dealers always carry about them soft white rags, which, 

 being moistened and gently rubbed over the plumage, 

 instantly reveal the yellow dye. The easiest and safest 

 method to distinguish the males is unquestionably through 

 their song, for, while the males even when only a few weeks 

 old strongly inflate their throat when beginning softly to 

 chirp or " study," as it is called, the feathers standing on 

 end the while, the females, on the other hand, even later on, 

 utter only some half-stuttering notes and instantly let their 

 heads droop again. 



Marks Of Age. — The age of grown-up canaries is 

 revealed by the, more or less, robust claws, and by the 

 stronger development of the scales of the feet and toes, 

 which, with increasing age, become always of a darker shade 

 of black, and are then called " tops." In Thuringia, the 

 latter mark, however, is not thoroughly reliable ; a rather 

 safer sign is a hook at the point of the beak, which may be 

 easily noticed. Sometimes it happens that even young 



