The London Fancy is a type canary defined by a single feature: a light body — yellow or white — in vivid contrast with dark wings and tail. It is that clean, dark-on-light contrast that defines the breed.
Born dark, then lightening
What makes the London Fancy so special is how that contrast appears. The bird is born with dark plumage as a juvenile and, as it moults, the body progressively lightens, while the wings and tail keep their melanin. In a top specimen the result is a clean body framed by deeply dark flights and tail.
A breed of its own, not a Lizard
The London Fancy is often confused with the Lizard, with which it shares a historical origin in 18th-century Spitalfields, London. But they are genetically distinct breeds. What defines the London Fancy is a heritable mutation called Progressive Greying — a different mechanism from the Lizard's spangling.
Read more: London Fancy vs Lizard · The London Fancy Manifesto
Types and colours
Within the London Fancy family we work with three expressions of the same mutation — Classic, Spangled and Melanic — in yellow and white varieties. Each has its role in breeding and selecting the breed.