5 Interesting Facts About the Canary Birds

Canary fact # 1

Canaries are used by researchers trying to understand Neurogenesis, the process when new neurons are formed in the adult brain. Canaries are also used for research regarding how songbirds encode and produce songs.

Canary fact # 2

Canaries are highly sensitive to toxic gases like carbon monoxide and methane and will die before the levels become fatal for a human. Earlier, miners took advantage of this by bringing canaries down with them into the mines. If toxic gases were released, the miner would notice their effect on the bird and get a chance to evacuate. In Britain, canaries were used in mines until the late 1980s. Today, evidence of this practice can been seen in the English language where “a canary” or “a canary in a coal mine” is used to refer to someone or something that serves as an early warning system.

Canary fact # 3

The British city of Norwich was once an important center for the breeding and exporting of canaries throughout Europe. What we today know as the Norwich Canary was fist introduced to England in the 16th century by Flemish refugees trying to escape Spanish persecution. In the 20th century, the Norwich City Football Club adopted the colors yellow and green in homage to this tradition and the team is colloquially referred to as “The Canaries”. The canary is also the emblem of the football team.

Canary fact # 4

Canary bird shows are held in many different parts of the world and the world show C.O.M attracts thousands of breeders each year. Up to 20,000 canaries are brought to C.O.M to be showed and judged. In the Northern hemisphere, the first canary shows usually takes place in October or November when the breeding season is over. (But song canaries are normally showed later.)

Canary fact # 5

Certain traditional canary variants can be hard to find since breeders tend to focus on the varieties that are currently popular among canary keepers. Variants that were once popular quite frequently vanish from the pet trade to give way for new variants.

from aquaticcommunity