Gary Cobb, age 11, of Ashland, Va., for his question:
ARE CANARIES FOUND IN THE CANARY ISLANDS?
The bird most often selected to be a pet is the canary. A canary quickly adjusts to a family's routine and, while being a friendly companion, he will often provide sweet music. Wild canaries can sing, but their songs are not as melodious as those of tamed birds which are bred for the quality of their song. Wild canaries are usually dark green and olive colored.
Canaries, which belong to the finch family, are actually named for the Canary Islands where they once lived wild in large numbers. Many of the birds continue to live there today.
But here's an interesting fact: while the bird was named for the islands, the islands were named for dogs and not birds.
The Canary Islands, a group of 13 islands which lie in the Atlantic Ocean about 60 miles off the coast of Northwest Africa, form two provinces of Spain. Seven of the islands are inhabited, with a population of about 1.18 million. The ancient name for the Canary Islands was Canaria, which comes from the Latin word canis which means dog. At one time thousands of large, fierce wild dogs roamed the land, and these animals gave the islands their name.
Tame canaries are usually bright yellow in color, but they can be found in tones of orange, reddish yellow or pale yellow. They were introduced into Europe during the 1500s. Careful breeding over a long number of years has produced many different types of canaries.
Some of the birds produced by breeders in Belgium, Scotland, France and England have strange appearances. One type, bred in Lancashire, England, is eight inches long. Belgian canaries have such long necks that their heads droop, while French canaries have curly patterns of feathers all over their bodies.
Perhaps the best singing canaries are those which were originally bred in the Harz Mountains of Germany. Called the St. Andreasburg variety, they are popular all around the world.
Different kinds of singing canaries are named for the type of song they sing. Most popular, perhaps, is the roller. This bird received his name because of his rolling, gurgling song.
Canaries have been used to detect poison gases in time of war and have also been used in coal mines where they detect dangerous gases. Canaries are also used in laboratory experiments.
The American goldfinch looks very much like a tame canary. It is a wild bird, however, and many people incorrectly call it wild canary.
Tame birds live on a diet of special canary seed, although they should regularly be given leaves of green lettuce. Home cages should be large enough for the bird to fly a bit for exercise, and water both for bathing and drinking should be provided.