CANARIES
In 1478 the Spaniards conquered the Canary Islands, which are off the coast of Afica. What enchanted the sailors the most on these islands were the beautiful singing birds, and within a few years these canaries became a great favorite among the rich in Europe. The earliest reference to the canary is in Gesner’s Historia Animalium in 1555. Although there are many different colors are sizes of canary today, the one exported by the Spaniards stood about four inches in length and was a greenish-yellow color. The Spaniards maintained a monopoly on the sale of canaries for over one hundred years by selling only male birds. In the sixteenth century, however, a Spanish ship laden with a cargo of canaries was wrecked, and many of the birds which escaped managed to reach the island of Elba. The Italians soon capitalized on this historical accident, and soon these birds were being shipped all over Europe, where French, Dutch and German birdkeepers learned the secrets of breeding them. Most canary varieties have been classified according to their shape and have been named after the geographical area in which they were developed; for example, the Yorkshire, the Norwich and the Border. Other varieties are named for the plumage pattern, song and color; for example, the Roller Canary, named for its song, and the Lizard, named for its distinctive color pattern. By the eighteenth century, canaries had become numerous enough for all levels of society to own. Different countries became known for the qualities for which they bred their birds. The Germans bred for better song quality; the English were more interested in fancy color varieties; and the French developed over 27 individual varieties of canary, which were distingquished by the color of their plumage.
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