THE CANARY BIRD.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—One word more on this subject. Having at one time bred canaries for a good many years, and having also spent a winter in Madeira, I never was more surprised than by the statement of the author of your article on " Talking Birds," that the song of the canary is an acquired one. I went to Madeira quite ignorant of the existence there of the wild canary-finch. Two or three days after my arrival, I heard, and afterwards saw, in the garden of the quinta where I was staying, what I never for a moment doubted to be an escaped captive, until my hostess informed me to the contrary.
I should say that the song of the canary has varied less in captivity than the plumage, although it has grown louder, and often harsher. An exact reverter to the wild type in both respects sometimes occurs. I have had a cock-bird—the descendant, no doubt, of many generations of captives—which might, I believe, have been turned out in Madeira without any one discovering from either song or plumage that it was not a wild one.—I am, Sir, &c., J. M. L.
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