Information About Canaries

The canary is a songbird bred to serve as a caged pet. It is a part of the finch family, which features solitary, cheerful birds that make good house pets, according to Animal-world.com.

  1. History

    • Canaries are native to the Azores and the Canary, Madeira and Cape Verde Islands, according to the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. They were first bred for captivity around 500 years ago, according to Planetpets.com.

    Appearance

    • Canaries usually weigh 10 to 35 grams and are 2 to 6 inches in height, according to Mazuri.com. Canaries can be yellow, red, orange, green, black and/or white. They have tight or soft feathers, in bright or more tempered colors.

    Song

    • Male canaries' songs are described as "roller," soft, closed-beaked, or "chopper," loud, open-beaked. Males learn to sing from other canaries or recordings of canary songs, and use their songs to attract female canaries, which are usually quieter birds.

    Reproduction

    • Canaries breed when they are nine or ten months old, according to the Society of Canary and Finch Breeders of Michigan. In the wild, females produce two to four sets of four to six eggs during a breeding season, which occurs in the springtime. In cages, females reproduce three to four times a year, according to the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia.

    Care

    • Give your pet canary birdseed; foods such as kale, spinach, apples or bananas and water daily, according to Animal-world.com. Give your pet a bath once a week. Put your bird in a cage that is at least 18 inches long and 10 inches high and add two or three perches to the cage, according to an article by Anthony Olszewski for Upatsix.com.