The canary that currently lives in our homes comes from the wild canary, an animal that can be found in the wild, among other locations, in the Canary Islands and Madeira. Our famous and beloved domestic canary would be the result of crosses between wild canaries and different types of finches.
The finches are a family of birds that have a strong and conical bill , sometimes quite elongated. These animals have their own flight, characteristic of the undulations. They usually nest in trees so they are more common in leafy places such as forests. Not only canaries make up this family, but also goldfinches and finches.
Returning to the bird in question, canaries measure between 12 and 13 cm. Within the domestic canaries there are variations according to the breeds, the largest being the Lancashire (22-23 cm) and among the smallest the gloster, fancy and the Spanish stamped (11.5 cm).
They are appreciated mainly in the breeding season due to the position and size of the cloaca. Singing can help as males are usually the singers. This data is not definitive for the differentiation of the sexes since some females also sing.
They are group animals that can not only live with their species. Despite this, there may be fights between males especially during the breeding season. They will relate to each other with singing or vocalizations.
They can live in indoor cages, in breeding cages or in outdoor aviaries (after acclimatization period).
Singing is the favorite activity of canaries
The song of the males is the most significant of this species. The oldest song canary breed is the Harz Mountain Song Canaries in Germany . The miners in this area took their birds to the mine galleries and used them as detectors for gas leaks.
Later they selected the specimens that sang the best, animals for which large sums of money were requested. Many miners left their work underground and started raising canaries.
The last selected singer is the Spanish timbrado, created from the 1950s and recognized in Spain in 1962.
Currently there are specimens of canary with song, color, curly (due to the appearance of their feathers), posture or pose, shape, crest, with markings …
The canary is one of the simplest bird species to breed. For this, rearing cages with open nests are used for which various materials are available for purchase in specialized stores.
The female lays 3 to 5 eggs and incubates them for 13 to 15 days. It is possible to obtain several clutches per year.
Its diet is based mainly on seeds of the Poaceae or grasses, of some fruits and also of small insects. They always eat in the company of other canaries or in flocks and they do so on the ground or in low vegetation.
