Gripping the upper perch, in positions assumed in display, are the BELGIAN FANCY (left), with head and neck extended at a sharp angle from the body, and the SCOTCH FANCY, with a smoothly arched exhibition posture. A “mop” of large, flat feathers adorns the crown of the CRESTED CANARY (lower left). Unusually long, wavy, and recurved plumage gives the FRILLED CANARY (lower right) the appearance of having been stroked the wrong way. Dandy of the English canaries, the YORKSHIRE (right center) should be slim, long, and straight as a soldier.

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

This Web version COPYRIGHT 2004

Another peculiar type is the coppy, or crested canary, in which the feathers of the crown are long and flat, and extend out from the center to form a cap that almost, if not entirely, conceals the beak and the eyes.

In the most sought-for types the crown is black and the body nearly clear yellow. Crested birds are bred in several strains of canaries, the most popular kinds being those of good size. The crested bird illustrated is of the Lancashire breed.