Fringilla canaria, LINNÆUS; Le Serin de Canarie, BUFFON; Der Canarienvogel, BECHSTEIN.
This pleasing bird had its origin in the pleasant climate and delightful valleys of the Canary Islands, and is now spread throughout Europe, part of Asia, and as far as Siberia. The beauty of its form, its plumage, and its song, united with its great docility, soon gained it admittance into the most magnificent abodes, where every one delights in rearing and preserving it, whilst the fairest hands are often eager to present it with the most delicate food. It was brought into our climate as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century. The arrival of the canary in Europe, is thus described:--A vessel, which besides its merchandise was bringing a number of these birds to Leghorn, was shipwrecked on the coast of Italy, opposite the island of Elba, where these little birds, having been set at liberty, took refuge. The climate being favourable, they increased, and would certainly have become naturalised, had not the wish to possess them occasioned their being caught in such numbers, that at last they were extirpated from their new country. From this cause Italy was the first European country where the canary was reared. At first their education was difficult, as the proper manner of treating them was unknown; and what tended to render them scarce was, that only the male birds were brought over, no females.
The grey of its primitive colour, darker on the back and greener on the belly, has undergone so many changes from its being domesticated, from the climate, and from the union with birds analogous to it (in Italy with the citril finch, the serin; in our country with the linnet, the green finch, the siskin, and the goldfinch), that now we have canaries of all colours. If we had not sufficient proof that canaries came originally from the Fortunate Islands, we should think the citril finch, the serin, and the siskin, were the wild stock of this domesticated race. I have seen a bird, whose parent birds were a siskin and serin, which perfectly resembled a variety of the canary which is called the green. I have also seen mules from a female grey canary, in which was no trace of their true parentage. The grey, the yellow, the white, the blackish, and the chestnut, are the principal varieties, and it is from their combination, and from their tints, that we derive the numerous varieties that we now possess.