Canaries

Part 1

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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARMERS’ BULLETIN No. 1327

CANARIES

THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT

To meet the requests continually received for information on the care of canaries in sickness and health, this bulletin has been compiled from numerous sources, including personal experiences and observations of the author. It is intended for all who are interested in canaries.

This bulletin is a revision of and supersedes Farmers’ Bulletin 770.

Washington, D. C. Issued May, 1923.

CANARIES: THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT.

By ALEXANDER WETMORE, Assistant Biologist, Division of Biological Investigations, Bureau of Biological Survey.

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction 1

History 2

Varieties 3

Cages 5

Care of cages 7

Indoor and outdoor aviaries 8

Food 9

Bathing 10

Molt 11

Color feeding 12

Breeding 13

Sex and age 15

Vermin 16

Care of feet and bill 17

Diseases and injuries 17

Broken limbs 18

Part 2

Loss of feathers about head 18

Respiratory troubles 19

Intestinal complaints 19

Bibliography 20

INTRODUCTION.

Among the birds kept for household pets none is more common or better known than the canary. So simple are its requirements in the way of food and care that it needs little attention, and because of its pleasing songs and interesting habits it is a universal favorite. Readily adaptable to cage life, canaries display little of the fear shown by wild birds in captivity, and the ease with which they may be induced to nest and rear young adds to their popularity.

Canaries have been domesticated for several hundred years and, though more common in western Europe and the United States than elsewhere, have been carried over practically the entire civilized world. In England and Germany there are hundreds of canary breeders and many avicultural societies. Several periodicals dealing solely with cage birds are published there, and in the larger cities bird exhibitions are held annually. Similar activities in the United States, while of younger growth, are making considerable progress.

During the 10-year period prior to 1915 more than 3,250,000 canaries were imported into the United States, mainly from Germany and England. With the continuance of the World War the number brought in decreased steadily, until it fell from an average of more than 1,000 birds per day in 1914 to about 10,000 for the year 1918. Importations from Germany practically ceased, and comparatively few birds were to be obtained from England, so that dealers were forced to look to the Orient, mainly to China, for the small number secured. This depression continued until 1920, but with return to more normal conditions in 1921, about 70,000 were imported, and in 1922 more than 150,000, largely from the former sources in Europe as well as the Orient.

Canaries seem to thrive in any climate where not exposed to too severe weather conditions, and in spite of the long period they have been protected and held in captivity they are capable of enduring a surprising degree of cold when hardened to it. In England it is not unusual to find them in outdoor aviaries throughout the year, and in the comparatively mild climate of California they thrive under these conditions. They seem able to establish themselves again in a wild state under favorable circumstances. A brood of domestic canaries released in 1909 on Midway Island, a sandy islet in the Hawaiian group, had increased by 1914 until it was estimated that it numbered about 1,000.

HISTORY.

The origin of the canary as a cage bird is as obscure as is the early history of other domesticated animals. It seems probable that captive canaries were first secured from the Canary Islands, a group with which they have long been popularly associated. There are in the Old World, however, two closely allied forms from which the domesticated canary may have come. One of these, the bird now recognized as the “wild canary,” is found in the Canary Islands (with the exception of the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote), Madeira, and the Azores. This form is illustrated in Figure 1. The other form, the serin finch, ranges through southern Europe and northern Africa, extending eastward into Palestine and Asia Minor. In a wild state these two forms are very similar in color and to a novice are hardly distinguishable.

If, as is supposed, the original supply of canaries came from the Canary Islands, it may be considered doubtful that the stock thus secured has furnished the ancestors of all our canaries. The slight differences in color between the serin finch and the canary would probably have passed unnoticed by early ornithologists and bird lovers. With bird catching a widespread practice in middle and southern Europe, the serin would often be made captive and be accepted without question as a canary. In this way serins and wild canaries may have been interbred until all distinguishable differences were lost.

The original canary, whether serin or true wild canary, in its native haunt was much different in color from its modern pure-bred descendant. The back of the wild bird is, in general, gray, tinged with olive-green, especially on the rump, with dark shaft streaks on the feathers. Underneath it is yellowish, streaked on sides and flanks with dusky. Wild canaries from the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira differ from the Continental serins in being slightly grayer with less of yellowish green in the plumage above. In addition, the rump is duller yellow and the bill is distinctly larger. All the wild birds have the feet and legs (tarsi) horn brown, the upper half of the bill dark brown or horn color, and the lower half paler.

Both of the wild varieties inhabit vineyards, thickets, and more open country where bordered by trees. At times, during fall and winter, great flocks are found together. The birds feed upon various seeds and occasionally eat figs or other small fruits in season. In a wild state they nest early in spring and again later, rearing two broods. The nest, made of plant stems and grasses and lined with hair and plant downs, is placed in bushes or low trees. The eggs are clear green in color, spotted and clouded with deep wine red and reddish brown. From three to five eggs are deposited.

FOOTNOTES:

The scientific name of the serin is Serinus serinus serinus. The wild canary is known as Serinus s. canarius. Both were first described by Linnaeus.

VARIETIES.

Variation among domesticated canaries began early, as Hernandez, in 1587, speaks of the canary as wholly yellow in color save for the tips of the wings. The various forms have had their origin in distinct geographic areas, and though some are almost extinct at present, all at one time or another have had a devoted following of fanciers. At present at least 14 distinct strains, with a large number of varieties, are known.

The common canary is reared primarily for its song, and from it probably came the roller, or song canary, a great favorite in Germany and, more recently, in England and the United States. In rearing song canaries attempt is made to produce males with clear, soft, pleasing songs with long rolls or trills, and no attention whatever is paid to other characters. These birds, therefore, may be nondescript as regards color and appearance, and in mating care is taken only to secure males that are good singers and females from good stock.

The young birds when fledged are put in rooms with males noted for their soft song, and here, through imitation, they develop their own vocal powers. Careful watch is kept over them, and any bird that develops harsh notes is removed at once to prevent his corrupting the purity of tone in the song of his brothers. A mechanical instrument known as a bird organ, that produces liquid trills, is frequently utilized in training, usually when the adult birds are silent during molt. Ordinarily the room where song canaries are being trained is darkened, and frequently the cages containing the young birds are screened with cloth to lessen a tendency to objectionable loudness of song. In six months or less, their education completed, these songsters may be sold or in their turn utilized in training others still younger. It is common to teach these birds some simple strain or air, through its constant repetition by whistling or by means of an instrument. Well-trained birds are popular pets and frequently bring high prices.

In the class of exhibition birds, perhaps none is more striking than the Belgian canary, pictured in Figure 2. Formerly known as the “king of the fancy,” it was reared extensively in Belgium, but of late years its popularity has been on the decline, so that as late as 1911 it was said that few pure-bred Belgians were to be found. The typical Belgian canary is a large bird with a small head, long, slender neck, large shoulders, and a long, tapering body. It is primarily a bird of “position.” When assuming the peculiar and desired attitude the bird throws its shoulders up and brings the head down well below their level; the back and tail form a perpendicular line and the feet are held close together.

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