They need no fancy mixed foods ; hence their popularity with amateur bird keepers. The WILD SERIN (upper left) is a common European cousin of the wild canary of the Azores, Aladeiras, and Canary Islands, from which has been developed the hardy domestic pet. The NORWICH YELLOW (bottom center) and the NORWICH GREEN (lower right) are two color phases of one of the most abundant types of canary in captivity. Of spotless plumage, the WHITE CANARY (upper right) perches diagonally above the handsome CINNAMON, distinguished by pink or reddish-brown eves. The GOLD LIZARD (lower left) is bred for perfection of color pattern.

By Alexander Wetmore
Originally appeared in the December 1938 issue of the National Geographic Magazine

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The cinnamon canary is also an albinistic variety, a tendency that is shown by its red or pink eyes. Its true color is a brown, mixed sometimes with yellow, with much white in the wings and tail.

In breeding, the cinnamon inheritance is transmitted by the male, as young bred from a cinnamon mother and a male of some other color do not have the pink eyes or the brown color of the cinnamon breed.