The road to Cesena, Part 1

Posted on 11/02/2018 by Huw Evans 1 Comment

According to Google maps, the road from Nottingham to Cesena is 1,128 miles (1815 km) long. Like many Lizard canary breeders, my road to Cesena was not measured by distance, but by the advances and retreats of a 15 month campaign to get my birds to the World Show.... Read More

Variegation, part 2: patterns of light and dark

Posted on 05/02/2017 by Huw Evans 31 Comments

Yikes! A budgie! What’s that doing on Fine Spangled Sort? Let me introduce you to Stanley, my daughter’s budgerigar. He is here for a good reason: to demonstrate the markings in his plumage.... Read More

Clear cap Lizard canary from Blakston-FI

Lizard canary basics, part 12: head and shoulders

Posted on 04/09/2016 by Huw Evans Leave a comment

“The spangling is clear and distinct, each individual spangle being clear of another. It extends from the back of the cap in perfectly straight lines to the wing coverts, each succeeding spangle progressively larger than the one nearer the neck.” Extract from the LCA Description of the Ideal Lizard Canary... Read More

Bird’s eye view: the canaries of Midway

Posted on 29/07/201629/07/2016 by Huw Evans 6 Comments

I had never heard of the Midway canaries until I read Rosemary Low’s article in Cage & Aviary Birds (1). Midway is an atoll comprising two small islands in the middle of the Pacific ocean, but is widely known thanks to the name it gave to one of the pivotal naval battles of the Second […]... 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

Sexual dimorphism: theory into practice, the answers

Posted on 04/02/201604/02/2016 by Huw Evans 1 Comment

If you have put your skills to the test, here are the answers. If you haven’t, look away now and read my previous post Sexual dimorphism: putting theory into practice.... Read More

Lizard canary basics, Part 7: how to tell males from females

Posted on 22/01/201621/01/2016 by Huw Evans 5 Comments

Unlike any other variety of type (or posture) canary, identifying the sex of a Lizard canary is easy. ... Read More

fine spangled sort

The London Fancy and the Lizard canary

spangles