THE CANARY. 



(Serimis canarius.) 



C. C. M. 



THIS favorite singer and cage bird 

 is a native of the Canary Islands, 

 Madeiras, Azores and other 

 small islands near the western 

 coast of Africa. The islands are in the 

 latitude of Florida and the climate may 

 be said to be of a tropical character, 

 though varied by lofty mountains. The 

 canary in its native habitat is chiefly 

 found in the mountainous districts, 

 often several thousand feet above the 

 level of the sea. The wild birds mate 

 about the latter part of March. The 

 nest is built in the tall trees of the 

 evergreen species, frequently in the tops 

 of these trees, and never less than eight 

 or ten feet from the ground. We have 

 seen it stated that they build on the 

 ground, but this has been found to be 

 an error. 



The first canaries known to Euro- 

 peans were brought from there by a 

 merchant ship trading with the Canary 

 Islands as a part of her cargo, several 

 thousand of these birds having been 

 trapped in the hope that they could be 

 sold for a good price as song-birds. 

 The ship was wrecked near the coast 

 of Italy, but by the thoughtfulness of a 

 sailor the cage containing the birds was 

 opened and the birds liberated. They 

 flew at once to the nearest point of 

 land, which happened to be the island 

 of Elba. The climate was so propitious 

 that the canaries multiplied rapidly. 

 In a very short time their superiority 

 as songsters attracted attention and 

 their domestication followed. The 

 shipwreck referred to occurred early in 

 the sixteenth century. The Italians 

 were the first to breed these birds, 

 and they were by them shipped to Rus- 

 sia, Germany, Belgium, and England. 

 They were first described in an English 

 book on natural history in i6io. The 

 rage for breeding the canary with home 



birds became curiously popular and re- 

 sulted in a curious intermixture of col- 

 ors. In Italy they were bred with the 

 citril and serin; in Germany with the 

 linnet, green finch, and siskin. Mr. C. 

 N. Page says, in his "Feathered Pets," 

 a very valuable book for bird fanciers, 

 that in an English book published in 

 1709 there are twenty-eight varieties 

 of canaries mentioned, comprising 

 nearly all those known at the present 

 time and some which have become ex- 

 tinct. The climate has also had much 

 to do with the change of color in these 

 birds. The canary, which in its native 

 home at Teneriffe is almost brown, be- 

 comes yellow and sometimes nearly 

 white after being bred a few years in 

 France, and it has been observed by 

 naturalists that the winter fur of an- 

 imals and feathers of birds become 

 thicker and lighter in color in propor- 

 tion to the coldness of the climate 

 which they inhabit. 



In England and Germany canary so- 

 cieties have existed for upwards of a 

 century, and annual shows or exhibi- 

 tions are held with prizes offered for 

 the best birds. 



Of the many varieties of canaries the 

 most popular in the United States is 

 the German. It is smaller than the 

 English canary and is a much finer 

 singer, being bred and trained for song 

 and not for size. They are called Hartz 

 Mountain canaries, and experts con- 

 sider them the most, satisfactory bird 

 for the people. They are bred by the 

 peasants in ordinary living-rooms high 

 up among the Hartz Mountains of Ger- 

 many. These birds are even more 

 hardy than the American-bred canaries. 

 They are brilliant singers. We had 

 one for five years, and while its voice 

 was wonderfully clear, full, and musical, 

 it was too loud and was not admired 



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