Our  Canaries  269 
young  from  a  wing-marked  Norwich  hen,  and  this  clear  buflf  Lizard  cock.  Some 
are  marked  on  body  with  almost  the  Lizard  wing  markings,  one  of  them  is  slightly 
ticked  on  side  of  head,  with  one  pure  Lizard  wing,  the  remainder  of  the  bird  being 
almost  clear." 
THE  LIZARD  AS  IT  SHOULD  BE. 
As  our  expert  collaborators  naturally  write  of  the  bird  in  a  somewhat  techni- 
cal manner  where  its  principal  features  are  concerned,  we  will,  before  proceeding 
further,  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  points  of  the  ideal  Lizard.  Owing  to  the  extreme 
difficulty  of  combining  the  more  essential  features  of  colour  and  markings  with 
large  size,  the  breed  has  hitherto  always  kept  on  the  small  side,  and  is  now  but  a 
trifle  larger  than  the  Border  Fancy,  and  considerably  smaller  than  the  Norwich— 
a  good  specimen  probably  measuring  not  more  than  5|ins.  over  all.  The  shape 
also  is  a  compromise  between  the  two  breeds  named,  the  Lizard  being  decidedly 
less  stoutly  built  in  proportion  to  its  size  than  the  Norwich,  and  a  little  more 
chubby  than  the  Border  Fancy.  It  is,  however,  a  shapely  and  well-proportioned 
bird  all  over,  and  stands  well  across  the  perch,  in  an  alert  and  graceful  position. 
In  the  ground  colour  there  are  the  two  types  common  to  all  varieties— yellow  and 
buff,  which  are  here  termed  Golds  and  Silvers,  respectively;  which  again  are 
synonymous  with  the  terms  "  jonque  "  and  "  mealy  "  of  olden  days,  though  these 
ancient  terms  are  still  much  used  in  some  Northern  locahties,  and  in  some  places 
the  term  "grey"  is  applied  to  the  Silvers.  Therefore  the  terms  "yellow," 
"jonque,"  and  "gold"  mean  one  and  the  same  thing,  as  also  do  the  terms 
"buff,"  "mealy,"  "silver"  and  "grey." 
COLOUR  AND  CAP. 
The  ground  colour  of  the  Gold  Lizard  should  be  a  rich  deep  orange-yellow, 
or  golden-bronze,  free  from  any  tinge  of  green  or  suspicion  of  cloudiness,  smoki- 
ness,  or  mossiness.  In  the  Silver  it  should  be  of  a  pure  silvery  grey,  as  silvery  as 
possible  in  the  grey,  and  as  free  from  cloudiness  or  smoky  hue  as  a  typical  Gold. 
The  cap  is  the  area  of  plumage  covering  the  skull  of  the  bird  extending  from  the 
beak  along  the  sides  as  low  as,  but  not  encroaching  upon,  the  upper  margin  of  the 
eye-lash,  and  ending  in  an  easy  sweep  across  the  base  of  the  skull.  In  the  clear- 
capped  bird  this  area  must  be  a  rich  pure  gold  or  silver,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
perfectly  free  from  the  least  speck  of  dark  colour.  The  edges  should  be  even  and 
well-defined,  and  the  whole  cap  somewhat  similar  in  shape  to  the  nail  of  a  man's 
thumb— hence  the  appreciative,  if  somewhat  technical,  term,  a  "  good  thumb-nail 
cap."  A  broken-capped  bird  is  one  in  which  this  area  is  more  or  less  encroached 
upon  by  dark  colour.  If  marked  by  the  slightest  speck  of  dark  colour  it  will 
suffice  to  constitute  a  "  broken-cap,"  whilst  if  there  remains  but  a  distinct  trace  of 
light  colour  it  will  still  be  relegated  to  the  same  class.  But  when  the  light  colour 
is  absent  altogether,  and  the  skull  totally  dark-hued,  the  bird  will  become  a  non- 
