![]() ![]() The wings were completely dark in show plumage. A over-year Lizard canary showing a light wing bar similar to the John Cooper specimen. Given the choice of dark legs and beak on a spangle-backed bird, or pale legs and beak on a clear bird, it would seem that Victorian fanciers had no hesitation in opting for the latter. The inevitable consequence was that the beak, legs and claws also lacked melanin and appeared pale, as we see in this bird. A ‘soft’ bird will also show less dark flue on being blown, and an additional ‘soft’ feature is a white leg.” (3)Ĭlearly, the ‘soft’ type had an advantage in producing a clear bodied bird, simply because it displayed less melanin (4). “The ‘strong’ are those in which there is much grizzled feather and dark flue, and ‘fine’ or ‘soft’ birds those in which the ticks are pale and indistinct, consisting for the most part of little more than a dark or grey stalk with only an occasional grey tinge in the web. Something had to give.īlakston (1878-81), while insisting that the London Fancy should have dark legs, also made an interesting observation when discussing the recommended pairing of ‘strong’ to ‘soft’ feathered birds: Close-up of the head and neck showing traces of melanin in the underflue ‘grinning through’.įor all the positive evidence, the bird displays an unexpected fault: the beak, legs and claws are very pale.īefore I look at the likely explanation, we need to understand that the ideal London Fancy was based on an inherent contradiction: minimum melanin on the head and body while at the same time displaying maximum melanin everywhere else. ![]() It is another affirmation of the ‘progressive greying’ factor. This is most evident on the neck and head, as shown in another detail. The contour feathers look clear yellow but it is possible to detect some melanin from the underflue ‘grinning through’ the surface. ![]() Close-up of the wings and tail showing traces of melanin in all the feathers This is entirely consistent with the phenomenon known as ‘progressive greying’ there is no doubt that these feathers were originally black. The tail feathers display a greater loss of melanin, but every feather retains some black as you can see from this close-up. The wing feathers are mostly black with a light wing bar, a pattern you sometimes see in over-year Lizards. At the second and subsequent moults there was a further loss of melanin causing a deterioration of the wings and tail. It was only after the first moult that the best specimens displayed the classic combination of clear yellow head and body contrasting against black wings and tail. Inevitably people will want to know more: are we sure it is a genuine London Fancy how can we be so confident about its age what do we know about the owner of the bird and how does it compare to the modern London Fancy? This article will try to answer these questions.įirst and foremost, it is evident that the bird is an over-year jonque (2) London Fancy canary.Īll the contemporary reports tell us that the London Fancy looked similar to a young Lizard in juvenile feather. News report from Cage & Aviary Birds 2 September 2020. You can find the news report in this week’s issue (September 2). I considered it a major discovery and Rob Innes, editor of Cage & Aviary Birds, agreed. I only became aware of the bird because Didier kindly sent me copies of the magazines. Hein’s photograph of the bird was first published in the August 2020 edition of De Witte Spreeuwen (the magazine of the KBOF, the Flemish bird keepers’ federation) to accompany a pair of articles written by Didier Mervilde. We can thank Hein van Grouw for the discovery he seems to have made a speciality of investigating birds that became extinct. A specimen of a London Fancy canary dated to circa 1850 has come to light the holy grail for canary historians. ![]()
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