Part 6

COLORFED NORWICH PLAIN HEAD CANARY

The beautiful flame tint of this bird is accomplished by feeding special color food when new feathers are growing. In the ideal Norwich, feathers are soft and silky with brilliancy and compactness, and are deep, bright, rich, pure and level in color. PLATE 18

WING-MARKED DARK CRESTED NORWICH CANARY

This spectacular bird is beautifully feathered as well as almost ideally formed. The crest correctly covers eyes and beak and is exceptionally even. Crest bred birds generally possess longer feathers than plain head types and have a tendency toward looseness of feather, hence the close feathering of this crested bird portrays the ideal. PLATE 19

WHITE YORKSHIRE CANARY

The erect fearlessness of the Yorkshire type is shown here. The feathering of this bird is excellent and its stance upon the perch is characteristic of this bold and alert canary. Note the long, well-placed legs topped by slim thighs. PLATE 20

CLEAR YELLOW YORKSHIRE CANARY

The ideal Yorkshire Canary is a favorite of fanciers all over the world. It is a soldier-like bird with graceful outline, bold and fearless expression, and smart lines and movements. PLATE 21

WING-MARKED YORKSHIRE CANARY

The stance of this canary is excellent. Note its tapering wedge shape which is a characteristic of the Yorkshire Canary Club ideal. PLATE 22

BUFF YORKSHIRE CANARY

The silky feathering of the Buff canary is well developed in this specimen. In Buff feathering the yellow pigmentation does not extend down into the tips of the feathers. As a result the bird is lighter in color and should have a frosted appearance across the shoulders. PLATE 23

SCOTCH FANCY CANARY

The Scotch Fancy was once extensively bred to develop this strange posture but is almost extinct today. Without doubt, the unnatural formation of this type is the cause of its gradual disappearance. The canary shown here was painted from one of the few remaining specimens and was imported directly from England for the purpose of making this illustration. PLATE 24

LANCASHIRE COPPY CANARY

The Lancashire Coppy, regrettably, is also being bred much less extensively today. It is an outstandingly large, erect bird--a veritable giant compared to the average roller or chopper canary. The difficulties faced by breeders of this type are many since the effort to produce increasingly large birds has led to considerable deterioration in other desirable characteristics, such as feathering. PLATE 25

GLOSTER CANARY

The Gloster Canary is a heavily crested bird, much smaller than the Norwich. The crest itself comes down, ideally, almost level with the center of the eye. The feathering of the specimen we show here is outstanding in quality because of its compactness and its fine texture. PLATE 26

EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH

The red face of this alert bird distinguishes it from other finches. The goldfinch breeds freely in the aviary and is kept not only because of its own attractiveness, but because it readily breeds with other finches, including canaries. PLATE 27

CANARY AND EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH CROSS

This cross provides some very outstanding singers. The goldfinch ancestry of this bird shows in its orange face and the traces of yellow wing bars. Its canary ancestry is evident in its beak, posture and conformation. PLATE 28

CANARY AND EUROPEAN LINNET CROSS

The linnet is popular for breeding mules and hybrids because it is one of the most outstanding singers among our finches. The effects of the linnet are especially clear in the coloring of the head, back and wings of this lifelike illustration. PLATE 29

MALE VENEZUELAN BLACK-HOODED RED SISKIN

The canary and siskin cross was considered infertile for many years just as are many other canary hybrids. Fortunately it was discovered that these hybrids were sometimes fertile when crossed back with a canary, furnishing a new incentive to thousands of canary fanciers now on the trail of both an all-red and an all-black canary. Today, many fanciers believe that the introduction of the Black-hooded Red Siskin's blood will provide the means of producing a red canary. PLATE 30

FEMALE VENEZUELAN BLACK-HOODED RED SISKIN

This attractive but much less lively colored "other half" of the Black-hooded Red Siskin will also produce fertile canary hybrids. The female siskin illustrates very well the dimorphic colorations common to many wild birds, being slightly orange in many of the areas showing deepest red in the male Black-hooded Red Siskin.