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 Europeans 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 Russia, Germany,
Belgium, and England. They were first described in an English book on
natural history in 1610. The rage for breeding the canary with home
birds became curiously popular and resulted in a curious intermixture
of colors. 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 extinct. 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, becomes 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 animals and feathers of
birds become thicker and lighter in color in proportion to the coldness
of the climate which they inhabit.
In England and Germany canary societies have existed for upwards of a
century, and annual shows or exhibitions 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 consider 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 Germany.
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 by our neighbors. The shrill and piercing note of some
of this species renders them somewhat objectionable as house pets.
The birds are happy in the cage, require very little care, and if
properly attended to are said to be free from diseases. Most of the
Hartz Mountain canaries are somewhat mottled with dark, greenish-brown,
though many of the birds are clear yellow, and few have crests. In the
canary-breeding section of Germany, almost every family keeps a few
cages of these birds, or has a room devoted to their breeding. The
German people are very fond of birds and there are many of them in the
United States who have many cages of rare specimens.
Milwaukee supplies the United States with the bulk of the Hartz
Mountain canaries, and there is no great crime in the deception, for
the Milwaukee bird is really an improvement on the imported article,
having just as fine a voice and being much hardier.
Experience has shown that the imported singer loses the power of
transmitting his voice to the young after passing through an American
winter. This is the case also, it is said, with Tyrolean singers who
come to this country, their voices losing the peculiar yodling quality
when they have been here a year. The native canary is hardier than the
imported one, and, with proper training, is every bit as good a singer.
Before they are mated the hen birds are kept in separate cages in
the music room, carefully fed and made to listen to the music of the
singers and the machine used in training their voices. In this way the
hen is enabled to transmit the best musical quality to her offspring.
The music-room is a large one, with a south exposure, and is kept with
the same scrupulous neatness as the breeding-room. In the corner of
this room is the bird organ, and with it the little birds are given
their vocal training.
When the machine is started the notes emitted are wonderfully like the
song of the untutored canary. These notes are known to bird-trainers
by the term _pfeiffen_. Gradually the whistle strikes onto a different
line. It is an improvement over the _pfeiffen_, and is called the
_klingel rolle_. A higher step still is called the _klingel_, and a
still higher step _hohl klingel_. Lastly comes what is called _hol
rollen_, and a bird whose voice has been developed up to that point is
worth $50 in the market any day.
In this country there are only three importers of canaries. Each of
these firms employs "bird-pickers" who travel over the mountains in
Germany and gather together a supply of birds which are selected from
the stocks of the small breeders.
There are several varieties of English canaries. The Norwich is a
general favorite. It takes its name from the city of Norwich, where for
generations it has been bred and cultivated. It has a brilliant, deep,
reddish-yellow plumage. It is regarded as the most beautiful of all the
canaries. Its color is frequently so dark that it is called the red
canary. This color is produced artificially by feeding them during the
moulting season a large amount of cayenne pepper mixed with hard boiled
egg and cracker crumbs.
Canaries have many pretty ways and can be taught many pretty tricks.
One that belonged to the writer had been deprived of its feet. Its
wing feathers never grew out, hence it could not fly or perch and was
obliged to stump about on the floor like an old veteran on his crutch.
But it was healthy and vigorous, and so pugnacious that on our return,
after the day's absence, it would fly at us, or try to, poor thing,
and peck our outstretched fingers, even while taking offered hemp seed
greedily. The bird watched and waited for our coming and we became so
much attached to it that its death was a real loss.
The little birds can fill our hearts
As full as larger creatures' arts.
The nest of the canary is a pretty, neatly formed structure of any soft
material it can find. Five bluish eggs are usually laid, and three
or four broods are raised between February and September, though the
female will sometimes persist in building until much later.