Scott Williams, age 8, of Miami, Fla., for his question:

ARE THERE CANARIES ON THE CANARY ISLANDS?

There are canary birds on the Canary Islands. In fact, the popular songbirds which are often kept as pets were called "canaries" because they were first found on the 13 Canary Islands located about 60 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa.

Ancient residents of the islands found the land was inhabited by hundreds of large, fierce dogs. They called the location "Canaria," a word taken from the Latin "cams," meaning "dog."

The Canary Islands make up two provinces of Spain. Only seven of the 13 islands are inhabited and the area has a population of about 1,500,000.

Canary birds still live wild in the Canary Islands. The wild birds can sing but their songs aren't nearly as melodious as those of their tame relatives which have been bred for the quality of their songs.