Domestic canary
The domestic canary, often simply known as the canary, is a domesticated form of the wild canary, a small songbird in the finch family originating in the Macaronesian Islands. Over the past 500 years of captivity, a wide variety of coloured, decorative and singing canaries have been bred through selection.
The canary has been kept as a pet for centuries, which began after the European conquests of the islands inhabited by its wild ancestor. They were domesticated and became prized possessions in 17th century Europe, eventually becoming popular even amongst poorer households, largely due to its melodious song and flexibility in breeding. They were also a highly popular pet in the United States from the 19th century until the mid 20th century. Canaries have also been used in the coal mining industry to detect carbon monoxide, a practice that has since been ceased.
Domestic canaries come in a wide variety of different plumage colours, unlike its wild ancestor which are usually grey or light green. The most well-known, stereotypical plumage colour of canaries is bright yellow, which has even given a name to a specific shade of yellow referred to as Canary Yellow. Singing canaries are the only pets whose voice and vocalisations have been influenced by humans to alter their sounds. The Harz Roller breed of singing canary has achieved wide fame in this field.
Description
The domestic canary is a domesticated form of its wild ancestor, which are named after Spain's Canary Islands. Common canaries are approximately to long, and weigh approximately to. There are decorative canaries that range from to long. The canary is distinguished by the harmonious shape of the finch - a round, formed head and a short, pin-shaped beak.Given proper housing and care, a canary's lifespan ranges from 7 to 12, or 10 to 15 years. Typically, the domestic canary is kept as a cage and aviary bird. The cage is placed in a well-lit place, but not in the sun, not on a window, and not in a draft. It enjoys some year-round sun, although in some warm regions it can die if kept in sunny areas without filtered shade. It should be wide enough to allow them to jump and fly around. The bottom of the cage should be cleaned regularly to prevent disease. Canaries can be housed together in an aviary during their resting period outside of the breeding season. They regularly require a water dish for bathing themselves, and need their nails clipped after once in a while, although with extra care to prevent injury. Toys provide mental and physical stimulation: canaries enjoy mirrors, bells that make sound, leather straps and swings and ladders. Colour-bred canaries may have specific care requirements like diet to preserve their plumage colours annually. The quality and activity of singing, reproduction, and longevity of the bird depend on the correct maintenance and care of the bird.
Being a monomorphic species, it is difficult to determine the sex of canaries by their appearance or colour intensity. A key fact is that most males sing, while most females do not, and those females who do sing won't produce the intensity and loudness of the male's. Canary keepers have used various unpublished methods to determine the sex, one theory being that the beak line and eye alignment differs, although even experienced breeders have mistyped the sex. Genital differences may be observed around the cloaca of a canary, but these are only noticeable around the peak of the breeding season.
Behaviour
Male canaries sing to attract mates and establish territory, and begin singing early in the morning. The light cycle has a direct effect on a canary's singing quality. Most females do not sing, but would still chirp. Research has suggested that males may use techniques singing certain notes that females would find particularly attractive. When canaries want to express mutual affection, they peck at each other; extensive mutual preening, as we know it from finches, is not common in canaries. Canaries communicate through calls and song. They respond to the warning calls of other birds, meaning they understand sounds unrelated to their species. When excited, canaries may jump from perch to perch in a cage or express it through various chirping sounds.The canary is a solitary bird, introverted in human terms, and they are normally comfortable living alone in a cage. They are not hands-on with humans and tend to be skittish around them. While by no means as tame as budgies and companion parrots, they can still, with patience, be tamed and trained to the point where they would willingly approach humans and sit on their hands or shoulders. German royal courts during the 18th century were noted to have had sensory closeness and emotional bonds with canaries. Tips were circulated on how to accustom the canaries to come and sit on a person's hand or fingers. Canaries are believed to be intelligent.
Moulting occurs between August and October, during the longer days of summer, and has full plumage for finding a mate and breeding during the shorter days of autumn and winter. During the longer summer days it is not unusual for the male canary to stop singing as new feathers are developing. Healthy birds shed their plumage within six to eight weeks. Young birds shed only their small feathers during their first year. Birds that are not fed and cared for optimally can be particularly vulnerable and health-stable during the moulting season. This can lead to a winter or spring moult.
A canary can be territorial when living together with other canaries or similar sized birds. Canaries always maintain an individual distance from one another, which even paired partners consistently maintain and defend. Outside of the breeding season, canaries are peaceful and sociable birds and can be kept as a group in an aviary during this time. In an aviary, a hierarchy is established within the group, after which disputes rarely arise and most fights are over coveted food or a preferred perch. Often, the fight is limited to mutual threats, after which the weaker bird gives up. They usually express threats with open beaks and raised wings. During the breeding season, the males establish territories and often defend them fiercely. This can lead to beak fights and chases that could be bloody. Therefore, multiple males should not be kept in one aviary during this time.
Biology
Reproduction
The canary's breeding season begins in spring. Males intensify their singing and also engage in chases and beak fights against rivals. The female frequently emits a trilling mating call and flaps her wings. She is constantly on the move. If the female is broody, she takes nesting material in her beak and searches for a suitable nesting site. Mating lasts one to two seconds.The female builds the nest in nesting supports in the form of baskets or semi-open nesting boxes. Canaries will use any materials provided by the bird keeper; suitable natural materials may include grass blades, moss, animal hair, wool and feathers, or special nesting materials such as coconut fibre, wood shavings, and lint. While building the nest, the male sings continuously and feeds his female.
Once the female has completed her nest, she lays the first egg, almost always early in the morning. Canaries often begin incubating immediately after laying their first egg. With canaries, it is common for the female to incubate alone and not be relieved by the male. She leaves the nest several times a day to defecate and drink. The rest of the time, the male provides the female with food from his crop. The incubation period lasts about 14 days.
On the day they hatch, the young live off the yolk sac; they are brooded by the female and not fed until the next day. During the first few days of the young's life, the male takes over the task of finding the food and passes it from his crop to the female. The female regurgitates this food from her crop and feeds the young with the twice-soaked food mush.
On the 16th day, the young leave the nest but are still fed by their parents until the 30th day. After three to four months, the now independent young birds complete their juvenile moult, during which only the small feathers, excluding wing and tail feathers, are replaced, and are sexually mature.
Diet
Canaries are granivorous animals, meaning they feed on grains and seeds that they find in their habitat. Canary breeders usually feed them with mixtures, which can be found commercially or made at home, using high-quality seeds, such as: canary seed, millet, linseed, rapeseed, radish seed, lettuce seed, endive seed, oats, hemp seed, and niger seed. Canaries also feed on vegetables, fruits, and legumes, which are very important for providing them with a large amount of vitamins. This includes fresh greens and vegetables such as lettuce leaves, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and grated carrots, fruits such as apples, pears and oranges, chickweed, and wild herbs such as dandelions.During breeding, it is beneficial to supplement this with egg food. This encourages the parents to feed and allows for better development of the chicks. It should be supplemented with chicken eggs, gelatine, breadcrumbs, or biscuit crumbs. Cuttlefish bone can also be given to provide the calcium needed for proper eggshell formation. During feeding, chicks are provided with live insects and a soft, protein-rich diet, along with sprouted seeds.
Diseases
are the most common cause of canaries' illness. Stress-induced immune deficiencies cause bacteria in the intestines to multiply to such an extent that bacterial enteritis develops. The affected canary develops diarrhoea and dies of dehydration within a few days. Other illnesses include broken wings, legs, and toes. Cataracts can also occur.Another cause of the disease is the canarypox virus. Infection occurs through infected birds or through mosquitoes as carriers. The incubation period is three to 16 days. Characteristic symptoms of this disease are nodules on the horns and at the corners of the beak, severe respiratory problems and death by suffocation or survival as a virus carrier. Ornithosis, which has no clear symptoms, is difficult to diagnose and must be reported. Symptoms over a longer period include complaints such as shortness of breath, diarrhoea, a runny nose or mucous secretions. Canaries can also become infected with atypical avian influenza. This disease is contagious for humans, who then develop conjunctivitis. It is transmitted through raw chicken eggshells or wild birds.
One way to monitor the health of domestic canaries is to observe the colour of their droppings. The faeces should be a clear black, and the urine, after drying, should be off-white. Canaries often die with little warning, and without clear reason.