The History of Canaries

All canaries are descendants of wild birds endemic to several islands in the eastern Atlantic. The breeding of canaries as pets has resulted in a domestic bird that is distinct from canaries in the wild. Selective breeding over the centuries has resulted in many varieties, differing in appearance and song. Canaries are perhaps most notorious for their role in the mining industry, as their sacrificed lives warned miners of dangerous gas. Nowadays, canaries are still popular as pets, and the wild birds still thrive in their native habitats.

  1. Canary Origins

    • Canaries, a member of the finch family, are endemic to the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of the African continent. Canaries are named after the Islands, rather than the other way around. They are also native to the Azores and Madeira. Canaries were introduced to the Hawai'ian islands in 1911, and an established population remains on Midway Atoll. A similar introduction to Bermuda was successful for a few decades, but the population died out by the 1960s, probably because of a tree blight.

    Early Canary Trade

    • When the Spanish took control of the Canary Islands in the early 1400s, they recognized the potential for trading canaries as pet songbirds. Because only male canaries sing, the traders tightly controlled the supply of male birds and created a monopoly on them. This kept the price of canaries high, increased their desirability and made them affordable as pets only by the wealthy.

    Developing Trade

    • The Spanish kept their monopoly on male canaries for many years, but eventually they became available to breeders and traders in Italy and then the rest of Europe. Legend says that a Spanish ship carrying canaries became shipwrecked near an Italian island, to which the birds escaped. From Italy the trade spread throughout Europe, and the price fetched by canaries decreased with the increased supply, until they were widely available as pets to average people.

    Selective Breeding

    • German breeders and traders in particular undertook extensive selective breeding of domestic canaries. Breeding birds were selected for song, color and body shape, resulting in many varieties of domestic canaries by the 1800s. Domestic birds now differ considerably in appearance from canaries in the wild.

    Coal Mining

    • Canaries were famously used by miners to detect poisonous gases in the mines. Miners would take a canary in a cage into the mine, and the death of the bird, indicated to the miners by a cessation in singing, would warn of carbon monoxide and/or methane in the atmosphere. The small canary would die before the miners were affected by the gases, so the miners would know to leave the mine for their own safety. The practice of taking canaries into coal mines continued in the United Kingdom until the mid-1980s, but has now been entirely discontinued.

    Pet Canaries

    • Domestic canaries are popular as pets, because people find their singing pleasant and their yellow appearance attractive. Canary owners find them friendly companions who can be trained to eat from the hand. A recent development is the breeding of red canaries, which have become popular among bird owners. Sometimes red canaries are created by injecting red dye into canary eggs, although this is regarded as cruel by some objectors. There are societies and shows for canary lovers, at which pet domestic canaries are judged for their song, color and type.