Lizard canary basics, Part 10: tiny details, big impact

Posted on 15/04/2016 by Huw Evans 4 Comments

Let’s start with a riddle: What am I? All canaries possess them, but I have never seen any writer on canaries mention them. You will see them in photographs, but rarely in drawings. They are an insignificant detail in every variety except one: the Lizard canary. Answer: they there are two tufts of feathers either side of […]... Read More

Sweet Bird of Youth: the sequel

Posted on 25/03/201625/03/2016 by Huw Evans 6 Comments

I finished Lizard canary basics, part 9: Sweet Bird of Youth by asking if any of the eight juveniles I had photographed were going to be stars of the future. Would we see their names in bright lights? In the best Hollywood tradition, the article left the leading characters facing an uncertain future; to find […]... Read More

Lizard canary basics, part 9: Sweet Bird of Youth

Posted on 20/03/201620/03/2016 by Huw Evans 1 Comment

Fans of Paul Newman and Geraldine Page are going to be disappointed. This article has nothing to do with the film, or with Tennessee Williams, other than the title. But what a title! Much better than ‘Juveniles’ which was my original choice. ... Read More

Over-year birds: addendum

Posted on 19/03/201619/03/2016 by Huw Evans 6 Comments

In Lizard Canary Basics 8 I illustrated over-year Lizard canaries with photographs of four birds before, and after, their second moult. An impossible task, because the signs of ageing cannot be summarised in four specimens. ... Read More

A Room with a View

Posted on 13/03/201613/03/2016 by Huw Evans Leave a comment

If you look up Gibraltar on Wikipedia you will find a photograph of a plaque that commemorates the first telephone exchange built on the Rock. The building is located in the old town and has long since been converted into residential use. Not just any residence but a Lizard canary residence... Read More

Lizard canary basics, part 8: over-year birds

Posted on 10/03/201605/03/2016 by Huw Evans 5 Comments

Pity the poor Lizard canary, a victim of the fleeting beauty of youth. From October to July the Lizard is a real dandy, exquisitely patterned, beautifully presented, and then . . . the glory fades and the precision is lost . . . it becomes an over-year! ... Read More

Bird’s eye view: the Roller canary (Cage & Aviary Birds 02.03.16)

Posted on 06/03/201603/03/2016 by Huw Evans Leave a comment

In 1921 Hans Duncker was taking a walk and heard a nightingale sing. Two things struck him as extraordinary: firstly it was August, long past the season when nightingales sang; secondly he was in the middle of Bremen, his home town. The explanation, when he discovered it, was even more extraordinary. ... Read More

fine spangled sort

The London Fancy and the Lizard canary

Lizard canary