The English Cinnamon canary, Part 2

Posted on 13/04/2020 by Huw Evans 7 Comments

By the turn of the twentieth century, the Cinnamon canary’s prospects were looking rather good. A widely accepted balance between colour and type had emerged, and a breed society, the Cinnamon Canary Club, had been established. The Club had 20 members at the end of 1900 but this had climbed to 55 by 1902, the […]... Read More

The English Cinnamon canary, Part 1

Posted on 05/04/202005/04/2020 by Huw Evans 2 Comments

“cin·na·mon (sĭn′ə-mən) n. 1a. The dried aromatic inner bark of certain tropical Asian trees of the genus Cinnamomum especially C. verum and cassia (C. aromaticum), often ground and used as a spice. 1b. A tree yielding this bark. 2. A light reddish brown.” (thefreedictionary.com) Canary fanciers with an interest in old breeds might be inclined to add a further definition: ‘a rare breed of canary renowned for its colour.’... Read More

Snelling & Southwick at 1954 National-FSS

Lizards at the National Exhibition during the 1950s

Posted on 19/03/202031/08/2020 by Huw Evans 9 Comments

No other show has played such an important part in the affairs of the Lizard Canary Association as the National Exhibition (1). Sponsored by Cage Birds magazine (as it was then known), it was the ‘National’ that gave the nascent LCA the opportunity to demonstrate to the world its determination to save the oldest breed […]... Read More

Crested curiousities Taylor's auctions-FI

Crested curiousities Gloster corona (Brooks 1950)-FSS

Crested curiousties Crests (Wallace 1893)-FSS

Crested curiousities Crest (House 1923)-FSS

Crested curiosities

Posted on 07/02/202008/02/2020 by Huw Evans 5 Comments

What is it about the head of the canary that appeals so much to the eye? The two canary varieties that I wanted to keep as a teenager both had distinctive heads. One was the Lizard with its cap, the other was the Gloster and its crest. No one kept them locally, and I only […]... Read More

Hogarth Midnight Modern Convrsn The Met-FSS

Sing a song of sixpence

Posted on 29/12/2019 by Huw Evans 5 Comments

“Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye, Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing, Oh wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king?”... Read More

Bird challenge Bells Sporting Chronicle-FSS

What’s in a name: the Fancy

Posted on 04/01/2019 by Huw Evans 2 Comments

London Fancy, Fife Fancy, Border Fancy, Irish Fancy, Scotch Fancy, the list goes on. Ever wondered why ‘Fancy’ was added to their names? Why not simply London canary, Fife canary, Border canary, Scotch canary?... Read More

CCSC Best Lizard 1994 National (JScott)-FSS

NCGC 5th Best Lizard 2016 LCA Classic (DNewton)-FSS

CCGH Best Lizard Classic 2014 NHastead-FSS

Lizard canary basics, part 15: the rise of rowings since 1987

Posted on 26/12/201726/12/2017 by Huw Evans 1 Comment

The first part of this short series looked at the rise of rowings (1) in the Lizard canary from a historical perspective. In the second part, I am going to take up the story from 1987 and look at the progress that rowings have made over the last 30 years. ... Read More

fine spangled sort

The London Fancy and the Lizard canary

history