Canaries

The Canary is a domesticated form of the Wild Canary, (Serinus canaria) a small songbird in the finch family originating from Madeira and the Canary Islands.

History

Canaries were first bred in captivity in the 1600s. They were brought over by Spanish sailors to Europe. Monks started breeding them and only sold the males (which sing). This kept the birds in short supply and drove the price up. Eventually Italians obtained hens and were able to breed the birds themselves. This made them very popular and resulted in many breeds arising and the birds being bred all over Europe.

The same occurred in England. First the birds were only owned by the rich but eventually the local citizens started to breed them and, again, they became very popular. Many breeds arose through selective breeding. Miner's canaries were early forms of carbon monoxide detection in mines. Three or more canaries (or other small birds with high metabolism) were taken down new shafts, and if one or more exhibited abnormal behavior, the parties determined that the shaft was unsafe.

Varieties

Canaries are generally divided into three main groups: Colorbred Canaries (bred for their many color mutations - Ino, Eumo, Satinette, Bronze, Ivory, Onyx, Mosaic, Brown, etc.), Type Canaries (bred for their shape and conformation - Border, Fife, Gloster, Gibber Italicus, Raza Espanola, Berner, Lancashire, Yorkshire, etc.), and Song Canaries (bred for their unique and specific song patterns - Spanish Timbrado, Roller, Waterslager (also known as "Malinois"), American Singer, Russian Singer, Persian Singer).

Canaries are judged in competitions every fall. Shows generally begin in October and November after the breeding season ends. Birds can only be shown by the person who raised them. They all have unique bands on their legs that indicate the year of birth, the unique band number, the club to which the breeder belongs. Song Canaries are judged later in the year (January).

There are many canary bird shows all over the world. The world show (C.O.M.) is held in Europe each year and attracts thousands of breeders. As many as 20,000 birds are brought for competition.

Taken from Wikipedia

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