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Show 204 GUINEA FOWL. CHAP. YIII. crossm. g w1th common turk eys, occas1· 0n ally produced much paler-coloured birds, and one that was almo_st white~ b~~ not. an albino These half-wild turkeys in thus sbgbtly ddfenng from · 1 'th the wild cattle kept each other present an ana ogous case WI in the several British parks. We must suppose tha~ the dr.f ferenccs have resulted f'r om the prev ention of free mter- crossm· o- between bu· ds rangm· g over· a ' :vide area ' and from th. e b . . h. h th have been exposed m changed conditiOns to w w ey . Eno·]and. In India tho climate has apparently wrought a still b • • d ··b d by Mr Blyth42 greater change in the turkey, f~r It IS escn . · .· . b as em. g roueh d egen erated I·n size ' ,, utterly mcapable of nsmg on tb e wm· g, " of a 1u. laclr... colour, and " with the l,o ng pendulous appendages over the beak enormously developed. TnE GurNEA FowL. THE domesticated guinea-fowl is now believed by_ na~ura1i~ts to be descended from the Numida ptilorhynca, whr~h mhab1ts very h ot , an d , I.n par·ts , extremely arid dis. tricts. m Eastern Af n·c a; consequcn tly I·t has been exposed m this. country to extremely different conditions of life. ~eve~·theless rt ha~ h~rdl! varied at all, except in the plumage bemg_ eit~er pal~r or darke~- 1 . d It is a sino-ular fact that this bnd vanes more m co OUI e . b . M · d colour in the vV est Indies and on the Spamsh am,. un er a hot thouo-h humid climate, than in Europe.43 The gmnea-fowl has beco~e thoroughly feral in Jamaica and in St. Domingo/ 4 and has diminished in size; the legs are black, whereas th_e legs of the aboriginal African bird are said to be. grey. Th1s small change is worth notice on accoun~ of the often~repeatecl statement that all feral animals invarrably revert m every character to their original type. 42 E. Blyth, in • Annal~ and Mag. of Nnt. Ili~t.,' 1847, vol. xx. p. 3!H. 43 Roulin makes this remark in 'Mem. do divers Sa vans, l' A cad. des Sciences,' tom. vi., 1835, p. 34G. Mr. Hill, of Spani:sh 'fown, in a letter to me, describes five varieties of the guinea.-fowl in Jamaica. I ho.vo seen singular palo - coloured vo.rieties im· ported from Barbadoes and Demerara. 44 For St. Domingo, aee M.A. Salle, in • Proc. Soc. Zoolog.,' 1857, p. 236. Mr. Hill remarks to me, in his letter, on the colour of the legs of the feral birds in Jo.maicn. CHAP. VIII CANARY BIRD. 295 THE CANARY BIRD. As this bird has been recently domesticated, namely, within the last 350 years, its variability deserves notice. It has beeu crossed with nine or ten other species of Fringillidre, and some of the hybrids are almost completely fertile; but we have no evidence that any distinct preed has originated from such crosses. Notwithstanding tho modern domestication of the canary, many varieties have been produced; even before the year 1718 a list of twenty-seven varieties was published in France,45 and in 1779 a long schedule of the desired qualities was printed by the London Canary Society, so that methodical selection has been practised during a considerable period. The greater number of the varieties differ only in colour and in the markings of their plumage. Some breeds, however differ in shape, such as the hooped or bowed canaries, and tho Belgian canaries with their much elongated bodies. Mr. Brent 46 measmed one of the. latter and found it eight inches in length, whilst the wild canary is only five and a quarter inches long. There are toplmotted canaries, and it is a singular fact, that, if two topknotted birds are matched, the young, instead of having very fine topknots, are generally bald, or even have a wound on their heads.47 It would appear as if the topknot were aue to some mor~id condition which is increased to an injurious degree when two birds in this state are paired. There is a featherfooted breed, and another with a kind of frill running down tho breast. One other character deserves notice from being confined to one period of life and from being strictly inherited at the same period: namely, the wing and tail feathers in prize canaries being black, "but this colour is retained only until the first moult; once moulted, the peculiarity ceases." 48 Canaries differ much in disposition and character, and in some small degree in song. They produce eggs three or four times during the year. 45 Mr. B. P. Drcnt, 'The Canary, British Finches,' &c., pp. 21, 30. 410 'Cotta.ge Garllcncr,' Dec. 11th, 1855, p: 184. An account is here given of all the varieties. For many mca.surcmcnts of tho wild birds, see Mr. E. Vernon Ilo.rcourt, iu., Dec. 25th, 1855, p. 223. 47 Becbstein, ' N aturgcsch, dor Stubon vogel,' 1840, s. 243; see s. 252, ou the inherited song of Cano.ry- birds. With respect to their baldness, aee also W. Kidd's 'Treatise on Song-Dirds.' 48 W. Kidd's ''I'rentiseon Song-Birds,' 'p. 18. |