Bolle is of opinion that the plumage above described is only acquired at the end of the second year. The female is brownish grey upon the back, with broad black lines along the shafts of the feathers; the neck and top of the head are similarly coloured, but the ground colour of the feathers is green. The cheek-stripes are grey, the forehead green, and the cheeks partly greenish yellow and partly a blueish ash-grey. The neck is encircled by a line that is yellowish green in front, merging into blueish ash-grey at the back; this ring, however, is not very distinct. The shoulders and small upper wing-feathers are a light yellowish green, the whitish-grey borders of which are broader, but not so beautiful as in those of the old male bird. The lower part of the breast and belly are white, and the feathers at the sides of the body brown, with dark lines at the shafts. The plumage of the young birds is brownish, shading into yellow upon the breast, with a few touches of lemon-yellow upon the cheeks and throat. The colours are extremely difficult to describe, owing to the delicacy with which the different shades are blended, and we may therefore add that the plumage is almost the same as that with which we are familiar in what we call our tame green or grey Canaries.
The food of these birds consists principally of green herbs, small seeds, and delicate juicy fruits—a ripe fig, for instance, with its soft, juicy flesh and small kernels, is eagerly sought for and enjoyed, as soon as the too ripe fruit has burst its violet or yellowish-green mantle, for until this happy time arrives their small and delicate beak is quite powerless to penetrate the distended skin. A fig-tree, when its fruit has reached this point of ripeness, is indeed a beautiful sight for those who have been fortunate enough to see it literally covered by the various singing birds that are tempted to rob its branches. Blackbirds, greenfinches, tom-tits, and many others come in variegated confusion to share the dainty in common with our friend the Canary. Water is essential to its welfare, as it drinks much, and is fond of bathing very frequently. These birds pair and begin to construct their nest about the end of March, never, as far as we have been able to ascertain, fixing upon a spot that is less than eight feet from the ground, preferring trees with slender stems, either evergreens or such as don their foliage early in the spring. Amongst their favourite trees pears and pomegranates hold the first place. The orange-tree is not often selected, on account of its bushy crown, and the fig-tree is never employed for this purpose. The nest is always built in a retired spot, but is easily discovered on account of the constant coming and going of the male bird. The first that we saw was found towards the end of March, in a deserted garden of Villa Arotava, upon a box-tree about twelve feet in height, that stood above a myrtle hedge. The nest merely rested upon the tree, being built between the forked portions of a branch, and was beautifully constructed. It was broad at the base, and very narrow at the top, with a tiny little entrance. The walls were formed throughout of snow-white wool, woven together with a few blades of grass. The first egg was laid upon the first of March, and one was added daily till there were five in all, this appearing to be the usual number of a brood, though from time to time we have found but three or four in a nest. The eggs are of a pale sea-green, spotted with reddish brown, but are sometimes of a uniform colour; they exactly resemble those of the tame bird, and the time during which the female sits upon them is the same in both cases. The young remain in the nest until fully fledged, and for some time after are tended by both parents, and fed from the crop with great care. The Canary breeds usually four times in the year, but occasionally only three times. In July the moulting season commences, after which no more eggs are laid.
During the period of incubation the male bird perches upon a tree near his mate, and from thence delights her with his song of encouragement and sympathy. It is a real pleasure to listen to this pretty songster, as it inflates its throat and pours forth its lay, turning, as it sings, from one side to another, as though to bathe its glowing breast in the flood of bright sunlight. All at once it hears the call of its little companion, and darts with responsive tenderness to perch at her side—indeed, in our opinion this modestly-attired bird, as it sits surrounded by all the varied and delicious blossoms of its native trees, is a far more attractive spectacle than its more brightly-coloured and elegant brother, with whose appearance in captivity we are all so familiar. We do not deny that the beauty of the objects that surrounded these Canaries had much to do with the admiration with which they inspired us, and many a time they have caused us for a moment to forget that we were sojourning in a strange land, their song exactly recalling the voices of the warblers we had heard at home. Much has been said, and very varied opinions expressed as to the relative merits of the song of these birds when free or in captivity, and for our part we consider that such as have been tamed in no way surpass their brethren of the woods, either in skill or beauty of tone. Whatever trifling modifications may be noticed, either as regards greater purity of sound or more artistic performance, the song is unchanged, and proves that though the language of a country may be entirely lost, yet the notes of these feathered songsters remain ever the same. We fully admit that our tame Canaries are at a great disadvantage when compared with their brothers of the groves, for that which sounds delightful in a dusty room, gains unquestionably a thousandfold by being heard in a spot where the singer has God's heaven above him, and masses of roses and jessamine at his feet. We would, however, by no means lead the reader to suppose that all wild Canaries are equally gifted; with them, as with all other singing birds, many degrees of skill and beauty may be observed, and some we have heard would well stand the test of comparing their notes with the heart-stirring tones of the nightingale. The flight of the Canary resembles that of the linnet, being somewhat undulating. In their passage from tree to tree, the various members of a party fly at some little distance from each other, uttering their call-note whilst on the wing. In the breeding season these birds live in pairs, but during the rest of the year they associate in very large flocks, often, however, dividing into smaller parties, and passing most of their time upon a chosen spot, spending a considerable portion of the day upon the ground, and re-assembling after sunset to pass the night perched in the branches of their favourite trees.
The capture of these birds is, owing to their great sociability, unattended with any difficulty, and even nestlings will run at the call of a decoy. In the Canary Islands we have seen linnets or gold-finches employed for this purpose with success. The snaring of this species should be carried on very early in the morning, in such spots as are well watered and rich in fine trees. On these occasions we have always found much interest in observing, from some place of concealment, the various movements and lively gestures of the unwary little victims as they run to meet their fate, and have ourselves seen from sixteen to twenty birds caught during a few hours; of these the unfledged young formed the larger proportion. The Canary is a restless creature, and must pass some time in captivity before it can be taught to lay aside its wild habits. The birds we have kept began to moult at the latter end of August, and some of them had not entirely resumed their plumage by the month of December. These latter we imagined to be the youngest members of the party, and the yellow colour in all cases was first visible upon their breasts.
THE TAME CANARY.
As regards the habits of the Canary when tamed, we quote Lenz, a naturalist well qualified to furnish all the particulars that could possibly be desired:—"In order to ascertain where the finest specimens could be obtained, I sought throughout the whole of Germany and its surrounding countries, not omitting to place myself in correspondence with various distant portions of the world, and am now fully persuaded that the choicest birds are to be procured at Andreasdorf, in the Hartz Mountains, and the neighbouring villages. In the above-mentioned place almost every house has its breeding-room set apart for their cultivation. Many families live entirely by this means, and we were told by an official belonging to the place that Canaries are sold to the value of 12,000 rix-dollars during the course of the year from this village alone. It is quite unknown when this business was first established in the Hartz Mountains, but that locality affords in plenty three great requisites for its success: wood in such profusion that the cost of warming the Canaries' apartments throughout the year is very trifling, abundance of rapeseed, and white bread, the corn for which is grown with ease in the beautiful meadows that surround the villages. The songs of the birds reared on this spot are very various, but in no case have we heard a really bad singer, while many possess voices of unusual power and sweetness."
In Andreasdorf a bird of uniform pale yellow plumage, and without a crest, is much preferred, because those that are uniformly tinted cannot be spoilt by irregular markings, and because the male nestling of this species is easily recognised on account of its tints about the eyes and region of the beak; even after the young have left the nest this distinguishing feature is for some time observable, and the sexes may be thus readily ascertained. The superfluous female birds are sent early in the summer upon their travels through the world in the care of an itinerant salesman, and hundreds of the males are taken in October and November to be sold by wholesale dealers in large cities, or exported to Russia and America. The Canaries reared in other neighbouring districts cannot equal those of Andreasdorf in their song, though they are very superior to such as are obtained elsewhere. The following hints may perhaps be useful to our readers in the choice of a tame specimen:—First, entirely green birds, or such as are brightly marked with green, are usually very strong, and, in consequence, their voice is often disagreeably loud; secondly, such as are of a yellowish brown or dark yellow are weakly, and seldom breed; thirdly, the variegated kinds do not often have prettily-marked young; fourthly, such as have red eyes are weak; and, fifthly, should birds with a crest be preferred, the purchaser must be careful that there are no bare spots on it. In order to ensure a good singing Canary, it is necessary to procure such as have parents gifted in that respect, and during the course of instruction the bird should not be allowed to hear the song of finches, larks, and nightingales, as the notes which it would thus acquire would be unnatural, and therefore soon forgotten. In Andreasdorf the people are most careful only to allow the young to copy the notes of such male singers as are experts in the art, as should the little pupil, even when four years of age, hear a bad singer it is pretty sure to imitate all its faults, and even in old age will sometimes retain this tiresome trick. The Canary will learn tunes played upon an organ with little difficulty, but after a time often perform them inaccurately. We have tried the experiment of placing the pupil with two old males, and have always found it prefer to imitate the bird whose song gives it the least trouble, and thus it acquires shakes and trilling notes with much greater ease than the flute-like tones, or deep rolling song of the nightingale. A Canary belonging to an artist residing at Bordeaux, possesses the remarkable faculty of singing whenever it feels disposed with the beak closely shut, producing its song, which is very clear, apparently from the top of its throat, and giving the effect, as in ventriloquism, of a voice proceeding, not from its owner, but from some distance.
The cage of a bird under tuition must be placed in such a position that it can be constantly visited and instructed, and at such a distance from the window as will prevent its being disturbed, in which case it is liable to become irritated, and learn to scream or sing in a very disjointed manner. The diet should consist entirely of rapeseed and white bread steeped in water, so that the food being simple, the pupil may not be distracted from its song by the daintiness of its fare. Green-stuff or fruit should not be given to it, as producing the same result. The wires of the cage should be so close together that the bird cannot stretch its neck between them and look around, and should it appear inclined to try to peck at such things as bits of paper, thread, &c., these should be removed and four oats given to it daily, thus affording exercise for its beak. If the Canary has been always in the habit of living alone it should not be allowed to see another of its kind, or it will immediately begin to scream instead of singing gently; but if more convenient to place it with other males, the cages should be hung close together so as to enable them to be constantly aware of each other's presence. When a young bird has been trained in this manner for two years, it may be considered to have learnt all that it is capable of acquiring. As regards the cage, great care should be taken that it has no brass or paint about it; the floor should be strewed with sand, and the bird furnished with some atoms of clay or crushed egg or snail shells. The perches are best when made from the wood of the lime-tree. Great precautions are necessary to prevent the entrance of vermin into the cage, and should they be detected both cage and bird must immediately be washed with linseed or rapeseed oil. Except during the breeding season, the females may all be kept together in a large cage, that is, if they will live in peace, which is not always the case. The place in which the cage hangs ought to be kept tolerably warm, but should the bird be exposed to a hot sun a screen should be provided. In winter the females may be kept without injury in a room in which the temperature is below freezing-point, but the male under such circumstances refuses to sing; many experiments have proved to us that these birds can endure extreme cold if only well fed, and provided with snow to drink instead of water. Canaries should be screened from draughts. Some perfumes are very injurious to them; one evening we placed a blooming Orchis bifolia in a room occupied by three of these delicate creatures, and in the morning found the two females dead, and the male so overcome that he was only saved by prompt attention. The use of the common kind of lamp-oil blackens the feathers, but does not in other respects injure the bird. As to the most suitable food, we can only refer to the treatment adopted by the inhabitants of Andreasdorf, of which we gave a detailed account in a previous page. The average age attained by the Canary in Malaga is sixteen years, but we have heard of cases where by great attention they have lived to the age of twenty. The number of eggs laid by this species is large, and one reared by us produced as many as twenty-nine within the year; the eggs are white, and dotted with red at the broad end. The female broods from about thirteen to fifteen days; the young birds quit the nest soon after leaving the egg, and feed themselves within a week of that time. Before a month has passed the feathers, with the exception of those on the tail and wings, begin to moult, and the change is not completed for some months. By the ensuing moulting season the young birds have commenced singing, and the males are then easily recognised by the fluency of their song, the notes of the young female being quite unconnected. Should it be desired to render a favourite very tame, no food should be given in the cage, the bird being thus compelled to take all from the hand. The Canary is well known to be a most docile pupil, and will learn to exhibit its skill by spelling words that are repeated to it, selecting the letters in proper order from an alphabet laid before it; will find the required pieces of cloth from amongst several others; and has been taught to add up, multiply, or divide figures by the assistance of numbers given it to choose from. Others will sing when commanded, pretend to fall dead when a pistol is fired, then allow themselves to be laid on a little car to be carried to the grave by two other canaries, and when the journey is accomplished will jump up and sing a lively song. All these tricks are taught as with dogs or horses, by keeping them without food until the order has been obeyed.