A Father of Nations
By Sebastian Vallelunga

When it comes to canariculture there are but a handful of significant events which have made history so to speak. Of course, the first is the initial evolution of a slight green serin with a tremendous vocal capacity. This vocal prowess is thought by some to be due to the rather unique weather patterns found on the Canary Islands; according to this theory the strong winds prevalent there have led to a songbird with an extremely strong voice. Like the ancient would-be orator who practiced shouting down the sea with pebbles in his mouth, the canary has developed his extraordinary voice under adverse conditions, in order to attract a mate and repel competitors. The second event is the domestication of the canary and a typical side effect that this process has on animals: namely, the disruption of the wild color pattern. Domestication doesn’t happen all at once and the process began sometime after the first wild birds were shipped to Spain before 1500 and Hervieux’s famous list of 29 canary varieties in 1713. These varieties seem to have involved color mainly, from the basic wild green birds to variegated to yellow to cinnamon to white, etc. It should be noted that there has been some misinterpretation of the 18th century French label duvet with which he describes some birds. Some have taken the term to mean “frill” while it seems more likely to refer to “down”. He speaks in his writings of birds “of a different colour from the natural plumage. (…) There are some canaries which have much more of this down than others—the fanciers call the first kind serins au petit duvet and the second kind they call serins au grand duvet.” It seems that this is an allusion to the feather texture mutation that we know today as yellow/buff or intensive/non-intensive; this mutation causes some individual canaries to have a lesser and others a greater amount of down and longer feather web causing the base lipochromic color to be more intense or more diffused or “mealy” respectively. Virtually all varieties or breeds of color, pattern, shape, or posture canaries are, in part, the result of this mutation. The third event, which happened at about the same time was the commitment of certain Germanic miners of the Tyrol and Harz areas and Fleming breeders around the area of Malines to refine the song of the canary. From the date of 1713 the Malines canary was known for its water tours. Later, the efforts of these breeders were rewarded not only through meticulous selection but also by way of mutations which have led to the very notable hollow roll and bass roll tours of the German or Harzer roller and the deep water drip and steel tone tours of the Belgian or Malinois waterslager. It may also be noted that since the song breeds do not show the same yellow/buff mutation as other breeds, it is added evidence for an early date in the division between the appearance and the song branches of the fancy; that is, a split began at least from the early 1700’s. The fourth event must have happened within fewer than 40 years of Hervieux’s 1713 list because by Buffon’s 1750 version of the list, the crowned canary appears. This is what old-time British breeders called the turn-crown and we call the crest mutation. This mutation in combination with the soft, long feathers of the buff mutation have yielded some spectacular results over the centuries. The fifth event is a size mutation and subsequent selection which led to the development of the bird which is the real topic of this writing. This may have begun in the German area of Saxony also sometime within the first half of the 18th century. Although we know a lot about the use of this mutation to improve other breeds, we know remarkably little about the origin and early development of the Saxon canary. Saxony was near the original homeland of the German song canaries or Harzer rollers and it is very likely that the mutation occurred within stock which was being bred for song quality as well. If this is indeed the case, it would have been a breed free from the yellow/buff mutation, at least in its early development, and some evidence which will be looked at shortly seems to corroborate this. Description of what, exactly, this mutation entailed is difficult since although this breed has contributed genetic material to many other breeds and varieties through cross breeding, the original type seems to be extinct. But, from the modern breeds that it was used to develop we can guess that breed characteristics included large size and a profusion of silky yellow feathers. That is, it was a bird of 6 _ inches, and possibly a bit more, with a medium build which could look much more stocky due to the feathers’ size and texture; the bird’s coloring was a soft buttery yellow which was probably slightly brighter in the males and in all likelihood some individuals had some ticking of darker feathers. This Saxon canary became popular early on and was a favored variety in the low countries, modern Holland and Flanders, from about the 1750’s. From there it was widely imported into Britain for the express purpose of improving other breeds and varieties under the names of Old Dutch and Great Yellow canary. It is not altogether clear whether the Saxon and the birds under these other two names were exactly the same or not. That is, they could all be the members of one breed or could be distinctly local variations on a theme, leading to what could be thought of as a “breed complex” similar to the way a wild species which covers a wide geographic area with many local races is designated as a species complex. It was not only in Britain that the Saxon was utilized to improve local canaries; many continental breeds seem to have a great deal of genetic material from the Saxon as well. As stated earlier, these can be identified by large size and/or a profusion of silky feathers, which, as was said, we can assume are the principle breed characteristics along with the predominance of the color yellow. Anyone who has picked up the Hebrew Scriptures will recognize the title of this work as a reference to Abraham, and if the Saxon stands in place of Abraham in this article, who are the sons of Abraham? The Biblical patriarch’s sons are two: Isaac who remained close at hand and Ishmael who was exiled to foreign lands, and the sons of the Saxon shared a similar destiny. Isaac First there are those breeds which were developed from Saxon stock within the continent of Europe. And the first of these which demands our attention is that line which has led to the modern waterslager. According to some authors, a great deal of crossing and selection work was done in the areas around Malines and Antwerp using the Saxon and the local water-voiced song canary which had been known at least since a 1713 travelogue account of that uniquely voiced bird was written by a French traveler. Results did not come quickly or easily, as individual tastes and diverse goals led to a number of different styles of song bird in the area. The fact that the modern waterslager does not share the yellow/buff mutation with its brother breeds is an indication that the original Saxon stock did not have the characteristic either. What the Fleming breeders accomplished through their original efforts was to produce a general style of song canary which was bigger than the Harzer and had a profusion of silky yellow feathers and these characteristics are still distinctive in the waterslager. In addition to the appearance, the breeders first were able to breed the song of the nightingale into their birds (called at that point nachtegaalslagers or nightingale singers) and around the year 1900 were able to further refine the watery voice of the breed, resulting in its present song style and the name waterslager.

According to controversial authors like Lelievre the waterslager is so similar to the Saxon that it is, in fact, indistinguishable from it with the exception of a refinement of the song through tutoring and selection over many centuries. So, according to these, the waterslager is indeed, in effect, the Saxon/Old Dutch/Great Yellow canary. However, this theory doesn’t explain what role the original Flemish water noted birds played in the development of the Saxon; were these two lines crossed early on as others have suggested or is the Saxon none other than a refinement of the 1713 singer of Malines without the infusion of other bloodlines? If this second hypothesis is the case, the name Saxon and geographic relation to Saxony may well be red herrings. It should be noted that the waterslager is the most popular song breed in Holland and has been traditionally raised there. The next descendant breeds or sons are the result of two further mutations which probably happened right within the Saxon line. One is a mutation of posture which causes the birds to favor a more or less stooped position and the second is a turning or frilling of the profuse feathers. With this combination of features the breeders of the continent originated a myriad of breeds which have been developed and refined over a long period and which have contributed to the development of breeds around the world. It is often difficult to say which breed came first within these groups, especially when dealing with those older ones developed on the continent. What we know for sure is that the oldest breeds were developed just before 1800 and include the bult or Belgian humpback and the Dutch frills (upright and stooped). These changes occurred in the same areas in which the waterslager was raised, namely: Belgium and Holland. Later developments include the Paris frill, the various gibbers like the Italian and Spanish, the various Italian frills like the Milan and Paduan and florin, and, more recently descended from the Paris frill, there is the Italian giant frilled. In addition, breeds like the Munich and to a lesser extent the Berner are likely to share genetic material with the Saxon. It should be noted that not all of these are descended from the Saxon in an equally close way. It is likely that crossbreeding with local stock was common whenever a new mutation was imported into an area. Many of these type canary breeds have yellow/buff versions which probably came from outcrossings. In addition, generations of selection could also obscure the evidence for genetic relationships. Let’s take the gibbers as an example. Long generations of double yellow matings have resulted in small, snaky birds with sparse, hard feathering punctuated by bare spots, so that it is difficult to see the relationship between this breed and the large silky Saxon until one remembers the history of the frilled and posture canaries to which the gibbers have an obvious affinity. Ishmael According to unsubstantiated traditions, it was refugee weavers from Flanders, escaping the social, political, and religious upheavals of the Low Countries, who began the practice of canary breeding in and around the city of Norwich. This would mean that the Norwich canary can trace its ancestry back to the Belgium of the late 1500’s. Doubtless, these early imported birds were little more than slight modifications on the wild species. As time passed, they began to develop into a recognized type which would eventually be modified into the modern Norwich through selection and crossbreeding. By the beginning of the 1800’s, these birds were being sent to the bird markets of London by the thousands and could be said to have fueled the British enthusiasm for the canary fancy. These birds were of medium build and some have described them as being somewhat similar to a smaller, more streamlined version of a modern Border canary. Meanwhile, the Lancashire canary had been created during the second half of the 1700’s by combining bloodlines from the Old Dutch (or, perhaps, more accurate to say the Saxon/Old Dutch/Great Yellow) with those of a crested canary. This combination yield a large, almost exclusively yellow, bird with a horseshoe shaped crest across its brow; which, when rigorous selection was applied to length and feather texture, led to a giant among canary breeds at 8 or 9 inches. By about the 1870’s the Lancashire breed, sometimes in combination with the Belgian bult, was used to add size and bulk to many other British breeds. Among these are the Norwich, which took on its John Bull look at this time, the English crest breed, the English cinnamon breed, and the Yorkshire. So, all these very British breeds have Saxon blood as well. This is also about the time that the Border canary was being developed from the local birds in the Border region between England and Scotland. It is not clear whether any Saxon blood was used to improve these birds at that time, but given the prevalence for crossing in Saxon bloodlines throughout the fancy from the 1870’s on, one must say that it is likely that at least some breeders indulged in this practice. Without a doubt, Saxon blood did enter into the Border breed through the Saxon-improved Norwich at some point which led to the profuse, silky feathering and the roundness of Borders a bit later on. Depending on when exactly the infusion of Saxon genes took place in the Border breed would determine whether or not a breed created from the Border, like the American singer (Border x Roller) share in Saxon heritage or not. Border bloodlines were used in the development of the Gloster, Staffordshire, and Columbus as well, but here there is no doubt that these breeds inherited their affinity to the Saxon through their crest ancestors. And, although some of these breeds are known for small size, their rich feather texture betrays their Saxon ancestry. Even the Fife, which is a reaction against the large size of modern Borders, probably has at least some Saxon blood since it is a bred-down version of the large Border canary. To backtrack a bit, early in the 1800’s the Belgian humpback was used to develop the Scotch fancy which had another infusion of Belgian blood in the 1850’s and, later on, the Japanese hoso, which also has some obvious connections to the Belgian and Scotch fancy, was developed. And, also in Japan, the Japanese frill was selected and developed from continental frills. Conclusion Lelievre’s idea that the waterslager is the Saxon/Old Dutch/Great Yellow which has survived into modern times is an interesting one. For those who spend any time with waterslagers, this theory may not come as a complete surprise. At times, when the waterslager is napping or sitting dreamily on a cool autumn day it can extend its plumage to a remarkable size and seemingly lies across the perch causing it to look for all the world like a Norwich. At other times it will stretch itself to its full 6 _ inches and swell its throat and chest feathers until one might mistake it for a slightly paunchy Yorkshire. Finally, and most commonly, when a waterslager preens itself and fluffs itself up, it appears to have the typical marble-shaped head on a tennis-ball shaped body look of the Border. Finally, if one were to take typical representatives of the main breeds to which Saxon genes have contributed with the intention of breeding back to the Saxon (in a similar way to what has been done to recreate the Lancashire which died out in the 1940’s), it seems to me that one would arrive at something very close to the waterslager in size and appearance.

Lelievre, Gustaaf and Mariela di Mauro. The Malinois Waterslager Canary. trans. Sebastian Vallelunga. Avicultural Encyclopedia of the Internet: Song Canary Subgroup. 28 February 2004. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aviculturalencyclopediasc/files/Malinois%20Waterslager%20Canary (5 June 2004).

Galloway, Rudolf. History of the Canary.
http://members.madasafish.com/~grahamwhite/download/history.html (25 November 2002).

Ibid.

Dodwell, G. T. Encyclopedia of Canaries. Neptune City, New Jersey, 1976. Pg.15.

Lelievre and di Mauro.

There is a great debate among waterslager historians as to whether this was done by having the canaries copy the songs of nightingale tutors (this is the opinion of Lelievre and di Mauro) or whether it was accomplished by the waterslagers simply copying the same natural sounds, like running water, from which the nightingale had learned its own song.