Modern canaries are small, white or yellow songbirds, kept predominantly as pets. They are descendents of the wild canaries domesticated by Western Europeans in the 17th century.

As males are the only variety of canary that sing, owners for hundreds of years would tend to set free or dispose of the females. The shortage of canaries that ensued led to high prices and an assumption that the birds were monopolized by the rich. Miner's Canaries Coal miners used canaries as a method of determining toxicity in a mine. As their lungs are smaller and more sensitive, a canary would die from potential carbon monoxide or methane gas long before affecting the miners.

1. 1600s: Canaries were first bred in captivity
2. Life span: between 9 to 11 years
3. Famous canary: Tweety Bird
4. Wild canaries are also known as Island, Tame, or Atlantic canaries
5. Named after the Canary Islands
6. "Domestic Canaries" have established natural habitats in Bermuda and Puerto Rico

• Canary 101: Canary Grooming

• Barnes and Noble: Canary Books

• Simbad's Birds and Pets: Canary Books

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