CAGE BIRDS. 
567 
preference to shape rather than to voice. The Belgian canary is a 
[long, slender bird, when at rest resembling a right angle in shape, his 
head and neck horizontal, his body and legs vertical. He is very 
| gawky in appearance, and extremely awkward in all his movements, 
; but to the trained eye marks of high breeding are everywhere apparent. 
His color is usually yellow, and he is of an exceedingly nervous tem- 
perament. The full-bred bird is seldom found in this country, but 
half or three-quarters bred birds are highly prized, for while not so 
high bred as to shape, they are much better songsters. 
The English Canary. — the English in breeding canaries give 
more attention to color and size than to voice or shape; and the English 
birds are becorAing justly popular. Their voices are good, their plum- 
age bright and varied. Among the English varieties may be men- 
tioned the Manchesters — long and large; the Norwich — a deep gold; 
|the Crimson, or Cayenne-fed, a deep orange or nearly crimson; and 
the Gold or Silver Spangled Lizard canaries— the most magnificent 
in plumage of all. 
The Crimson canary is not really crimson, but a very deep orange 
with a tendency to shade to crimson. Some have dark-green crests 
and wings. The color of these birds is produced by selecting young 
birds of a deep yellow, or a deep yellow and green, and feeding them 
all they will eat of a mixture of egg food and a heaping teaspoonful 
of the brightest colored Cayenne pepper. This should be fed before 
each moulting, otherwise the bright color will be lost. 
Gold Spangled canaries haye bright gold capped heads and lines 
of bright gold spangles with olive-green centers from the neck down 
the back. The Silver Spangled are marked like the Gold, but have 
silver spangles in place of the gold. 
'The French Canary. — The French canary somewhat resembles 
the Belgian, although smaller. While a better singer than the Belgian, 
he can not be especially recommended for his musical qualities. "The 
breast feathers are ruffled, giving the bird an odd appearance. These 
birds are bred in all the canary colors, and plain-headed or with crest. 
The Scotch Canary. — This is a remarkable variety originating in 
Scotland. The outline of the shape closely approximates a perfect 
half-circle. They are about of the size of the Belgian, and their voice 
i is about on a par with that of the French. They are bred in all the 
colors, the deep yellow being the most attractive. 
The Mocking Bird. 
The mocking bird belongs to the great family of thrushes, and is 
distinctively an American bird. Apart from being a most beautiful 
isongster he surpasses all other birds in his wonderful power of mim- 
icry. To produce any and every familiar noise of city or country 
iseems to be a delight to this master-mimic. 
The home of the mocking bird is in the Southern and Gulf States, 
whence many thousands are annually sent to the Northern markets! 
