Update

Posted on 17/06/2016 by Huw Evans Leave a comment

You may have noticed some changes in the menu bar at the head of the blog. I’ve created two new headings: Lizard Canary and History which contain duplicates of the posts from the original series. I hope this will make navigation easier for those who want to refer to these articles. There has also been some housekeeping under the Introduction heading because space […]... Read More

Practice: the egg

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

We all know what a canary egg looks like, don’t we? Pale blue with some reddish splodges. It may be a miracle of nature, but our real interest does not go much further than wondering whether it will deliver a chick into this world. This season has reminded me that eggs are not that simple.... Read More

History, part 11: Hervieux’s list

Posted on 31/05/2016 by Huw Evans 4 Comments

Nouveau traité des serins de Canaries: a small book, you can hold it comfortably in the palm of your hand; leather bound, but otherwise crudely printed; 327 pages (excluding the contents, preface and dedication); three illustrations, but sadly none of the birds themselves. Nothing special you might think, yet this book propelled the canary into […]... Read More

History, part 9: the turn of the century

Posted on 13/05/2016 by Huw Evans Leave a comment

My history series has reached 1700. A good time to take stock, like one of those end-of-year magazine articles that review past events, look at current trends, and attempt to forecast future developments. ... Read More

Ephemera: oiseleurs

Posted on 07/05/201623/05/2016 by Huw Evans 2 Comments

Just as I was preparing the article on the oiseleurs of Paris, John Canepa sent me some old photographs showing a French bird market and its customers. ... Read More

History, part 8: the oiseleurs of Paris

Posted on 29/04/2016 by Huw Evans Leave a comment

Anyone who wanted to buy a pet bird in Paris in the late 1600s would have known exactly where to find one: the quai de la Megisserie, a bustling area on the right bank of the Seine (1); or, if it was a Sunday, on the Vallée de Misère and the Pont au Change at […]... Read More

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

fine spangled sort

The London Fancy and the Lizard canary