Domestic Canary

This article is about the pet variety of the bird. For the wild bird that inhabits islands off western Europe, see Canary. The Canary is a domesticated form of the Wild Canary, (Serinus canaria) a small songbird in the finch family originating from Madeira and the Canary Islands.Canaries were first bred in captivity in the 1600s. They were brought over by Spanish sailors to Europe. Monks started breeding them and only sold the males (which sing). This kept the birds in short supply and drove the price up. Eventually Italians obtained hens and were able to breed the birds themselves. This made them very popular and resulted in many breeds arising and the birds being bred all over Europe.
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