|
|
|
|
|
|
By Alexander Wetmore
In a wild state the canary (Serinus canaria
canaria) is native to three groups of islands in
the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean – the
Canary Islands (from which it takes its name),
Madeira, and the Azores. In the Canary group
it is found on all of the islands except Fuerte-ventura and Lanzarote, and is one of the most
common wild birds from sea level to the
highest ridges.
The true wild canary is grayish above,
streaked rather heavily with blackish, and
marked with yellow on the rump and crown.
The breast is dull yellow and the sides grayish,
indistinctly streaked. This is the stock from
which all our domestic canaries have come.
In many parts of the world there are other
kinds of small yellowish birds known as "wild
canaries," but they have nothing to do with
our domesticated bird. In the United States
the name is given to such different species as
the goldfinch (Spines tristis) and the yellow
warbler (Dendroica aestiva), representatives
of two distinct families. In Latin America the
term "canario" is applied to many kinds of
small tanagers, warblers, and sparrows.
How the canary came into captivity is not
recorded at this late day. Seemingly this must
have been because of pleasing song, since the
coloration of the wild canary is nothing remarkable. Sailors brought captive canaries
home from voyages, demand arose for them,
and from the end of the 15th into the 16th
century Spaniards imported the wild-taken
birds into Europe in numbers, selling them
for good prices.
Even at this early time it was found that
canaries could be reared in captivity. And at
the beginning of the 16th century the area
where they were extensively produced spread
from northern Italy north to center around
Innsbruck, Nurnberg, and Augsburg.
Turner in 1544 is the earliest writer known to
me to mention the canary. Conrad Gesner,
in the third book of his Historia Animalium,
published in 1555, said that he had not seen
one, but gave an account of the species from
information furnished him by a friend in Augsburg. Canaries remained rare for a considerable period, and commanded such prices that
for a long time they were kept only by the
wealthy.
Accustomed as we are to the canary in captivity, it seems strange to consider them as
living wholly at freedom. In their island homes
they range commonly in gardens and orchards,
and are also found in flocks in sterile, stony
country where they may be tame and confiding, or wild and difficult to approach.
The nests are cups of grasses and weed stems
lined with softer materials, placed in bushes or
on low branches of trees. The three to five
eggs are light green, spotted with reddish
brown. The song is as attractive as in captive
birds, though not so prolonged in utterance,
nor is it given for so much of the year.
Under domestication, variation among canaries began at an early date. Dr. E. Stresemann has pointed out figures of canaries with
white wings and much yellow on the body in
paintings by Lazarus Roting of Nurnberg, who
died in 1614, so that the change from the original color to the yellow phase apparently was
under way at the close of the 16th century.
The yellow and the green types of canary,
with every possible intergradation between, remain the common forms to the present. While
the green canary is an approach to the parent
stock, native birds from the Canary Islands
are grayer on the back than most of those
found in captivity.
The ordinary household canary, kept by those
who merely love birds, is of moderate size, with
the colors as indicated above. It will be of interest to examine some of the distinct strains
kept mainly by canary fanciers, who breed pure
stock and retain only those birds with the definite characters of the variety concerned.
Originally appeared in the December 1938 issue of the National Geographic Magazine
This Web version COPYRIGHT 2004
The canary, found today in every country on
the globe, occupies a remarkable place, since
among our common domestic birds it alone is
kept and reared solely for the pleasure and
companionship that it brings into our homes.
As it does not produce flesh, feathers, or other
product of commercial value, its contribution
to our well-being comes entirely in the form
of pleasing songs and interesting mannerisms.
It joins cultivated flowers in making attractive
the background for our lives.
 |
| Photograph courtesy U.S. Bureau of Mines |
|
|
|
|
| Contact PETCRAFT |
|
|
| Featured Link |
FREE New Jersey Pet and Pet Supplies Classified Ads
 |
 |
