The grey of its primitive colour, darker on the back and greener on the belly, has undergone so many changes from its being domesticated, from the climate, and from the union with birds analogous to it (in Italy with the citril finch, the serin; in our country with the linnet, the green finch, the siskin, and the goldfinch), that now we have canaries of all colours. If we had not sufficient proof that canaries came originally from the Fortunate Islands, we should think the citril finch, the serin, and the siskin, were the wild stock of this domesticated race. I have seen a bird, whose parent birds were a siskin and serin, which perfectly resembled a variety of the canary which is called the green. I have also seen mules from a female grey canary, in which was no trace of their true parentage. The grey, the yellow, the white, the blackish, and the chestnut, are the principal varieties, and it is from their combination, and from their tints, that we derive the numerous varieties that we now possess. Those canaries, that have the upper part of the body of a dusky grey or linnet brown, and the under part the yellowish green of the green-bird, with dark brown eyes, are the strongest, and most nearly resemble the primitive race[53]. The yellow and white often have red eyes, and are the most tender. The chestnut are the most uncommon, and hold a middle rank for strength and length of life between the two extremes. But as the plumage of the intermediate ones is a mixture of these principal colours, their value depends on the pretty and regular manner in which they are marked. The canary that is most admired amongst us now, is one with the body white or yellow, the head, particularly if crested, wings and tail, yellowish dun; the second in degree is of a golden yellow, with the head, wings and tail black, or at least dusky grey. Next follow the grey or blackish, with a yellow head and collar; the yellow, with a blackish or green tuft, which are very much valued. As for those that are irregularly spotted, speckled, or variegated, they are much less sought after, and are used to pair with those of one colour, white, yellow, grey, brown-grey[54], and the like. The female can scarcely be distinguished from the male, but the male has generally deeper and brighter colours, a head rather larger and longish, a longer body, a more elegant form, neck not quite so short, and higher shanks. There is a feather under the beak, of the shape of a bean, placed lower than the rest, and the temples and circle round the eyes are of a deeper yellow than the other parts of the body. The length of the canary is five inches, of which the tail measures two and a quarter: the beak, five lines long, is strong, very pointed, and whitish; the shanks, eight lines in height, are of a flesh-colour. I shall end this description with an account of the different mule birds obtained from the canaries.