Our  Canaries 
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usually  found  among  the  smaller  specimens.  The  head  should  be  large,  bold,  and 
free  from  flatness  on  the  crown,  smoothly  featured,  without  the  least  suspicion  of 
overhanging  eye-brows  ;  the  beak  in  uniformity  with  the  head,  helping  the  outline 
to  run  harmoniously  either  way  on  to  a  nice  full  neck,  and  on  to  a  deep  round  full 
chest  beneath,  and  a  broad  and  full  back  above,  blending  in  with  a  smooth  grace- 
ful waist,  and  on  to  a  short,  compact  tail.  The  legs  should  be  of  moderate  length, 
and  wings  proportionate  with  the  body,  neat,  and  well  carried,  just  meeting  at  the 
tips,  and  there  should  be  no  depression  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  or  pinched  appear- 
ance about  the  neck  or  throat.  The  plumage  must  be  perfectly  smooth,  fine,  and 
exceptionally  rich  and  silky  in  texture,  without  any  sign  of  coarseness,  roughness, 
or  loose  open  feather,  and  the  bird  standing  well  across  the  perch— in  short,  a 
slightly  enlarged  edition  of  the  chubby,  trim,  close-feathered  Norwich  should  form 
the  ideal  in  shape  and  type  of  the  Cinnamon  breeder.  Add  to  this  combination 
of  physical  features  the  inevitable  pink  eye  and  a  rich  deep  shade  of  pure 
Cinnamon  colour  throughout,  as  level  as  possible  on  back  and  sides,  with  just  a 
trace  of  pencilling  on  the  back,  and  the  ideal  Cinnamon  stands  revealed. 
THE    PINK    EYE    AND  PENCILLING. 
These  features  are  often  a  stumbling  block  to  the  novice,  who  fails  to  recognise 
the  one  or  understand  what  is  meant  by  the  other.  He  looks  at  his  adult  Cinna- 
mons hopping  about  their  cages,  perhaps  in  none  too  good  a  light,  and  fails  to  see 
anything  but  the  ordinary  dark  or  black  eye  of  all  other  Canaries,  and  wonders 
what  claim  they  at  any  rate  can  have  to  the  term  pink-eyed.  True,  to  the  casual 
observer,  on  looking  at  them  in  this  haphazard  way,  they  are  just  black-eyed  birds 
in  appearance.  But  bring  them  into  a  good  light  and  place  them  so  that  the  light 
is  reflected  from  the  eyes  at  varying  angles  to  the  onlooker,  or  catch  them  and 
hold  them  so  that  you  look  at  their  eyes  in  a  good  light  from  different  angles,  and 
you  will  soon  discover  the  ruddy  pink  of  these  organs,  which  fully  merit  the  term. 
This  difficulty,  however,  occurs  only  with  adult  birds.  In  the  nestling  stage  the 
pink  eye  is  more  pronounced  and  quite  unmistakable,  and  is  easily  seen  even  before 
the  eyelids  are  opened.  But  as  the  birds  grow  up  to  maturity  the  eyes  become 
darker  in  colour  and  the  pink  hue  less  easily  recognised  unless  looked  for  in  a  good 
light  in  the  way  just  described. 
The  pencilling  consists  of  the  darker  streaks  frequently  found  on  the  back  and 
sides  of  the  bird,  which  are  formed  by  the  shafts  of  the  feathers  and  a  narrow  strip 
of  web  on  each  side  the  shaft  being  of  a  darker  shade  than  the  rest  of  the  feathers, 
which  form  the  narrow  dark  streaks  or  pencillings  on  the  back  and  sides  of  the 
bird.  This  pencilling  should  be  of  the  pure  Cinnamon  colour,  which  naturally 
means  a  faint  trace  of  pencilling  rather  than  a  bold,  dark  impression. 
FAULTS    TO  AVOID. 
Any  other  colour  but  the  true  Cinnamon  tint  is  naturally  a  prime  cause  for  dis- 
qualification—a Cinnamon  without  Cinnamon  colour  being  an  unthinkable  parody 
