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antipodi
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Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:09 pm
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Some basics on Canaries
The Canary comes from the Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa, in a line with Spain. The birds are named after the islands, not the other way around. Curiously, the Romans named them the "Dog" Islands, for the inhabitants bred an extremely large type of dog. As might be expected, the ever pragmatic Romans were more interested in fierce, guard dogs, than in little singing birds! "Canary" is a corruption of "canis", Latin for dog.
The Wild Canary is very similar in appearance to the common green canary - rather like a starved, runt English House Sparrow! One might venture to say that Nature's original version of the Canary did not seem to offer much in the way of a very auspicious start!
BREEDS
By the early sixteenth Century, Canaries were prized as pets in the European World. Over a span of five hundred years, through selective breeding, many distinct varieties of canaries have been developed.
Though all adult male Canaries sing, some were bred purely for vocal ability, of which the Roller Canary is the best example. The "looks" of a Roller are given very little consideration. Most of these feathered Carusos could easily be mistaken for one of the wild birds.
Rollers sing with a closed beak. Common singers perform with an open beak and are called Choppers.
American Singers are a special breed, produced from a cross of Roller and Border canaries, and are very popular in the United States. These birds maintain both Rolled and Chopped notes in their musical repertoire. Judges also score them on the basis of physical conformation.
All canaries, but particularly American Singers and Rollers, are capable to a degree of mimicry. It is possible to teach them simple musical scores, instrument tones, wild bird calls, and even a word or two of human speech. Don't think that ANY Canary is going to give an African Gray or a Mynah bird any sort of competition!
Up until the Industrial Revolution, and the advent of loud machinery, it was common for craftsmen to keep canaries in their shops for entertainment. The "Canary in the coal mine" was an extension of this practice of work place bird keeping. The Canary would die from gas fumes, alerting the men to the danger.
The people of Great Britain delighted in experimenting with the possibilities inherent in the size and form of the Canary. The results were The Norwich, The Yorkshire, the Gloster, and the Border. The Norwich and Yorkshire are two of the giants of the Canary kingdom. Either might be twice the size of a common Canary. The Norwich concentrates on bulk, with a broad head and chest. The Yorkshire expresses height, being a tall, thin bird. The Gloster is a miniature Canary breed, with the broad head and chest of the Norwich, but only three-quarters of the size of the more usual Canaries. The Gloster is best know for its "cap" or crest (corona) of feathers on the head, rather reminiscent of the old Beatles hair-do! The Border, first kept along the border of England and Scotland possesses refined and pleasing proportions.
The French and Italians took special delight in "Birds of Position" and in Frilled Breeds, both among the most strange and striking examples of the breeder's art. Birds of Position, like the Belgian Hunchback, show what looks like a curvature of the spine. The bird's posture is that of an inverted half moon. The Scotch Fancy Canary and the scantily feathered Italian Gibber Italicus are other examples of this category. The feathers of the Frilled Canaries are long and twisted. The first impression that one gets is that a feather duster has sprung to life! The Parisian Frill is one of the larger varieties. The combination of size and bushy feathers produces an illusion of a bird the size of a dove.
Canary breeds have been developed in the United States. Every fair sized town of Italy can be counted on to have its own breed of Canary. These will nearly all be derived from combinations of the breeds described above, or will be refined versions of them.
HYBRIDS AND MULES
In Europe it is very popular to cross Canaries with other finches. The Goldfinch, the European Siskin and the European Green Finch are most often used. The overwhelming majority of these crosses are infertile, hence the term "mule." Mules are produced for their singing ability and are also exhibited at shows.
It is possiblethat the modern Canary is the result of crossing, over the last half a millennium, that some fertile crosses were achieved and subsequently bred back to Canary stock. This means that the Domestic Canary is not identical, as a species, to the Wild Canary.
The Venezuelan Red-Hooded Siskin
The most important hybrid is the Venezuelan Red Siskin (Spinus cuculatus) male crossed with the Canary (Serinus canarius canarius) hen. This breeding scheme produces some fertile males in the first generation. These hybrids are the foundation for the Red Factor Canary.
The Venezuelan Red Siskin is an endangered species. Now, with the Red Factor well established, the production of further Red Siskin X Canary hybrids is a somewhat questionable practice.
_________________
Antipodi
May one day man and Animals live together in harmony and peace
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