Canary bird

[Fr. serin de Canarie; Ger. der Canarienvogel; It. canario.] The Car duel is canaria, or Fringilla canaria of Linnæus, a well-known songster, which may be found caged in every house where the inmates are fond of song-birds. It is a native of the Canary Islands, but naturalized in Europe and in the United States. The color of the wild C. is a dusky gray; whereas in the domesticated C. we have a great variety of colors-green, yellow, white, brown, gray, . This is, of course, owing to the numerous cro breedings this species has been subjected to. It breeds freely with several other species: the gold-finch, the bull-finch, the siskin, the green-bird, and the linnet, among the number. Altogether, it is reckoned that there are no le than thirty varieties of the C. The best authority on the subject says:-"Those C. that have the upper part of the body of a dusky green or linnet-brown, and the under part of the yellowish-green of the green-bird, with dark-brown eyes, are the strongest, and most nearly resemble the primitive race. The yellow and the white have often red eyes, and are the most tender. The chestnut are the most uncommon, and hold a middle rank for strength and length of life between the two extremes. The C. that is most admired among us now is one with the body white or yellow; the head (particularly if crested), wings, and tail, yellowish-dun. The second in degree is of a golden yellow, with the head, neck, wings, and tail black, or, at least, dusky gray. Next follow the gray or blackish, with a yellow head and collar, and the yellow, with a blackish or green tuft, both of which are very much valued. As for those that are irregularly spotted, speckled, or variegated, they are much le sought after, and are used to pair with those of one color, - white, yellow, gray, brown gray, and the like." (Bechstein's Cage-Birds.) In its native home, the C. builds its nest in thick, bushy, high shrubs and trees, with roots, mo , feathers, hair, .; pairs in February, lays from four to six pale-blue eggs, and hatches five, and often six times in the season. Bechstein gives the following directions for getting and keeping good C.:- "The most e ential is to choose from among the young that which promises a fine tone, and to seclude it from all other birds, that it may learn and remember nothing bad. The same precaution is nece ary during the first and second moulting; for, being likely to re-learn, if I may say so, its song, it would introduce into it, with equal ease, foreign parts. It must be observed whether the bird likes to sing alone or in company with others; for there are some which appear to have such whims, liking to hear only themselves, and which pout for whole years if they are not humored on this point. Others sing faintly, and display their powers only when they can try their strength against a rival. It is very important to distribute regularly to singing-birds the simple allowance of fresh food which is intended for the day. By this means they will sing every day equally; because they will eat uniformly, and not pick the best one day, and be obliged to put up with the refuse the next. About two spoonfuls of dry food is sufficient for the daily nourishment of a C." Cana'ry-gra , n. ( Bot .) See PHALARIS. Canary Islands, or CANARIES, (believed to be the For tun atæ Insulæ of the ancients,) a group in the N. Atlantic ocean, belonging to Spain, between 27° 40' and 29° 40′ N. Lat., and 13° 32′ and 18° 20′ W. Lon., 135 m. N.W. of Cape Bojador on the W. coast of Africa, and 650 m. S.W. of Cadiz. This group consists of 7 principal islands, viz., Arecife, Guia, La Laguna, Orotava, Les Palmas, Santa Cruz de la Palma, and Santa Cruz de Teneriffe, also called Gomez y Hierro. The total area of the 7 islands embraces 3,256 sq. m. English geographers often describe Arecife under the name of Lan zarote, Guia, under the name of Canary , and Gomera y Hierro, as Ferro . Adjoining these chief isles, and included in the Canaries, are the small islands of Gracioso, Clara, and Allegranza. They are called the Little Ca naries, are situated to the N.W. of Lanzarote, and connected with that island by a bank, on which there is, for the most part, 40 fathoms water. Lanzarote is the most easterly, Allegranza the most northerly, and Hierro, or Ferro, the most southerly and westerly of the Fig . 495. PEAK OF TENERIFFE. group. This last-mentioned island has acquired considerable celebrity, from its having been selected by the early modern geographers as the point where they placed the first meridians, or from which they began to reckon the longitude. In some countries this method is still kept up, but the English and French adopt for their first meridians those pa ing through the observatories of Green wich and Paris. The most W. part of Ferro, La Dabe a, is 18° 9′ 45" W. of the meridian of Green wich, and 20° 30′ W. of that of Paris.- Desc . These islands are all of volcanic origin, very mountainous, their coasts precipitous, and the channels between them very deep. The greatest elevation is the Peak of Teneriffe, 11,400 ft. above sea-level. In all the islands there are plentiful traces of extinct volcanoes; in Lanzarote one still continues active. The C. have no rivers, but they are watered in certain seasons by heavy mountain torrents. There are few roadsteads, and no close harbors, the bay of Palmas offering, perhaps, the best to be found. Clim . Hot, but healthy. - Soil and Prod . The soil is very fertile, producing grains and fruits, of both the torrid and temperate zones, in abundance. Guia (or Canary) and Teneriffe are the best watered, and most fertile and finest cultivated of the group. The latter island yields a good growth of wines. Much brandy is distilled and exported. Among the other chief exports are silk, honey, wax, and cochineal. Cattle and poultry have been introduced from Europe. The Canary-bird is still found in these islands. The fisheries are on a large scale and employ an important quota of the population. Manf . Coarse woollens, silks, and linens. Prin. towns. Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe, and Las Palmas, in Canary, are the chief commercial ports. The islands are governed by the Spanish laws, under a governor-general who resides at Santa Cruz. The military force is composed of 25,000 men.- The C. were first discovered in 1330, and in 1400 the French took po e ion of them. The conquest of the whole of the islands was afterwards effected by Spain before the end of the 15th century. Pop . 239,850. Cana'ry-seed, n. The seed of the canary-gra , used as food for birds.