NORWICH PLAINHEAD HISTORY

NORWICH PLAINHEAD HISTORY

 by A.W. Barnes

 

Certainly the Canary, as a domesticated species was fairly common in some countries and in England by the middle of the 16th Century and, therefore, it must be presumed with some justification that the breeding of different varieties began in England sometime in the 17th Century. With the Norwich Canary, the name, of course, is geographical in origin just as other varieties grew up with the names of Yorkshire, Gloster and the Border in the Border countries.

The Norwich Plainhead Canary, as its name implies, was first developed by the people of East Anglia, particularly by those whose homes were in and around Norwich. Records show that the establishment of the Norwich coincided with the growth of East Anglia as the centre of the English wool trade, brought about by the immigration in the Middle Ages of the Flemish weavers.

This canary became almost as much a part and parcel of the scene as the spinning wheels and looms in the settlers' cottages. By the middle of the 17th Century, the Norwich had become firmly established and had already survived its ups and downs.

Other varieties had risen in popularity, only to fall again into disfavour, but not so the Plainhead. We may well ask why the Norwich has outlasted many other varieties, and what is the reason for its continued popularity? The answer is that it has remained a favourite because it fulfils the idea of numerous fanciers of what a canary should look like - a stately looking bird.  In a show cage it is certainly something worth admiring.

As others have pointed out before, the Norwich does show certain definite East Anglian qualities. It has been described as a jolly, comfortable bird, being solid rather than graceful. During the 18th Century the Norwich Canary became larger in size, unwieldy, rough in feather, and it was in the following century that lumps began to appear. This was brought about by the mania to produce size in Norwich, resulting in excessive feather through double buffing.

Fortunately this craze for size died a natural death, and today quality is every breeder's aim. The lovely, short bird with a round head, short beak, good depth, short wings and tail and round body is here to stay.