This section is from the book "The Home Cyclopedia Of General Information", by Charles Morris. Also available from Amazon: Home Cyclopedia of Necessary Knowledge.
A cage bird about the size of a sparrow, which is found wild in the Madeira and the Canary Islands. Great quantities of tame birds are raised in Germany. In its wild state it is generally of a dusky gray color; but tame birds are of very many different colors, those with white or yellow feathers being most valued. The tame bird is a sweet singer, some having the skylark, others the woodlark, and others the nightingale note. It is the favorite among cage birds.
 
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