At the Annual General meeting of the Association held at Alexandra Palace on Deem- beer 4th, 1971, a decision was reached regarding the future standard of the Scotch Fancy Canary. These details embody the agreed standard and give some guidance to members towards its achievement.

HISTORY
The history of the Scotch Fancy Canary began in the early part of the nineteenth century when it was evolved as a development from imported Belgian stock dating back at least to the 1830's. During the middle years of the Victorian era it had achieved a considerable popularity among Scottish fanciers, particularly in the Glasgow area, where it became known locally as the 'Glasgow Don'. Its other popular name, the 'bird o'circle', referred to the ideal outline and stance of the breed as it was in its heyday. During the later years of the century a great deal of crossbreeding with the Belgian Canary took place, to the detriment of both varieties. It is from this period that the beginning of a decline of the Scotch Fancy from popular favor can be traced. Today, it is making a heartening rally, although still in the hands of a relatively few enthusiasts.

CHARACTERISTICS
The Scotch Fancy is one of the old-time 'birds of position' with a special posture to show off its points to advantage. It is a bird of fair length with a tapering, body curved in the form of a half-circle from head to tail. It has a nicely circled back forming the outside, or convex, segment and the front is well cut out in a clean concave arc. The head is small, neat and somewhat snaky in appearance, being a shade flat on the crown, and the neck is long, thin, nicely tapered and reaches well out when the bird is in full pose. At this stage it should not be below horizontal. The shoulders are high, narrow and nicely filled in without any suggestion of a 'gutter' running between them and down the back. The tail is long, narrow and closely folded and sweeps well under the perch in a continuation of the curve from shoulders and back.

The Scotch Fancy should have a bold, free and jaunty carriage with long, supple legs giving it plenty of life and action in moving from perch-to-perch. In position, it should be well raised up forming a high circle and should not crouch or lean across the perch. Past developments tended to produce a bird with an abundance of loose feather, especially in the front, but the endeavor nowadays should be to breed a bird of good feather quality with a cleanly cut outline above and below.

BREEDING
The decline of the Scotch Fancy in the past was often associated with infertility and poor readability, said to be due to the effects of excessive inbreeding as numbers declined. Stocks available today have undoubtedly been maintained with the aid of the occasional outcries so that increased vigor has largely eliminated these defects. In general, there has been a decrease in size in present-day Scotch Fancies and this must be guarded against since an undersized or miniature Scotch Fancy is as incongruous as an undersized Yorkshire or Norwich.

MOULTING
The Scotch Fancy can be moulted in the usual manner and it does not need to be colour fed for exhibition.

SHOWING
This breed is exhibited in an open wire cage of somewhat similar design to that of the Border, though slightly larger in dimensions. The Scotch Fancy needs a fair amount of show cage training for successful exhibition. In position it should stand erect, with the head carried well forward and forming with the back and tail, which should be well curved under the perch, one continuous arc. In action, it should move freely and effortlessly from perch-to-perch, displaying a certain jauntiness and elegance but without destroying the essential outline of its contours.