Fun Border Canary Facts For Kids

The Fringillidae family is made of small-sized passerine birds, with short slender bills adapted to their feeding habits and often have colorful plumage. They inhabit several regions and habitats with plenty of natural resources and are not highly migratory. Their distribution occurs worldwide except for countries with extreme climates. This family consists of more than 200 species that are further divided into 50 genera including species of redpolls, siskins, canaries, grosbeaks, and euphonias. This article is about a special canary bird and it will tell you everything you need to know about it including its range, distribution, habitat, breeding, nesting, and feeding habits!

The border canary generally known as the common canary is a beautiful yellow songbird mainly found in Europe. It is also known as the border fancy canary. The scientific name given to this species is Serinus canaria domesticus, which is derived from Latin and roughly translates to 'domesticated songbird'. Border canaries have plump bodies with a fairly big but cute round head, small beak, and sharp eyes. The color of these birds may not always be yellow. In aviculture, their buffs can be solid green, blue-yellow, cinnamon, white, and some might even be ticked or variegated. Borders that are uniform yellow are generally called 'clears', while the solid green, cinnamon brown, and blue ones are called 'selfs'. Pied canaries are known as 'variegated'. These canaries are often confused with the gloster canary but can be separated by paying close attention to their song.

Learn about some other birds from our Atlantic canary facts and flame bowerbird facts pages.

What type of animal is a border canary?

The border canary is a type of songbird, famous for its beautiful song and belongs to the Animalia kingdom.

What class of animal does a border canary belong to?

The border canary belongs to the Aves class and is the genus of Serinus.

How many border canary are there in the world?

The accurate population size of these birds is unknown.

Where does a border canary live?

The border canary distribution occupies regions of Bern in Switzerland, Scotland, and England. This bird evolved from the common canary and was first bred in North England and Scottish Borders in the 1700s.

What is a border canary's habitat?

The border fancy canary bird's habitat includes pine and laurel forests, semi-open areas with small trees such as orchards, bushes, shrubs, and regions with temperate climatic conditions. Typically, the domestic canary bird is kept as a popular cage and aviary bird, and often bred solely because of its attractive and bright-colored buff.

Who do border canaries live with?

Border fancy canaries live in groups of canaries in the wild. Since they are often bred as household domestic pets all over the world, they also live with humans.

How long does a border canary live?

Given proper housing and care, a border fancy canary's life span ranges from 10-15 years.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season for border canaries usually begins around March, and these canaries breed across their range. During the breeding season, a male bird makes several signs and gestures to display courtship and readiness to mate including offering a female food, singing bold and loudly while flapping its wings, hopping, and switching its feet as if the perch were on fire. When a hen is impressed by the gestures made by the male bird, the female begins building a nest and starts carrying materials that it deems suitable for the nest to make it better and stronger. Hens show their readiness by putting up a little aerial act. They jump up into the air off the perch and turn around in mid-flight at the same time.

In captivity, canary borders usually breed early in the morning on the floor of their cage. Hens normally lay one egg per day in the early morning, to prioritize the care of the elder chicks in case food is scarce. The eggs are small, pale blue, and covered with brown speckles or markings. A hen will lay between three and five eggs per brood but, on rare occasions, it will lay six eggs. Both the cock and hen incubate the eggs for 13-14 days in their local habitat for breeding and after hatching, the young canary birds leave the nest after 14-21 days. Snakes often feed on chicks and eggs.

What is their conservation status?

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has Not Evaluated the border fancy canary bird. This bird, however, is considered a common species throughout its range. It rose to fame in the late 1700s. Breeders all over Scotland and England bred these birds to either sell them as pets or to train them as show birds. They were usually bred in pairs or groups and trained to have all the desirable traits. In the next few decades, the demand for this species increased even in the border regions of northern England and southern Scotland, and it quickly became a sought-after singing bird.

What does the border canary look like?

Border fancy canaries are usually uniform, smooth, silky, bright yellow plumage. They are sometimes found in various other colors including green, cinnamon brown, and white. These birds may also be variegated or ticked. A border canary is a chunky bird with a well-rounded head and fairly large, circular eyes. This bird has a short beak adapted to its diet.

How cute are they?

The border fancy canary bird looks really cute thanks to its yellow buff, feathers, and adorable behavior. This bird is also nicknamed the 'wee gem' because of its small compact size. Ironically, it is also one of the largest canary birds.

How do they communicate?

A border fancy canary bird communicates via vocalizations, gestures, and body language. This bird has a melodious sound with fluid notes. This bird sings to express various emotions and its song has inspired many poets.

How big is a border canary?

Adult border fancy canary birds grow up to 3.9-4.7 in (10-12 cm) in size. Male birds are slightly bigger than females. A peacock is nearly 11 times bigger than them.

How fast can a border canary fly?

There is no defined speed of the border fancy canary bird but is very fast and can fly for a long time.

How much does a border canary weigh?

An adult or mature border fancy canary weighs around 0.5-0.7 oz (15-20 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

A male border fancy canary is called a cock, while a female border fancy canary is called a hen.

What would you call a baby border canary?

A baby border fancy canary is called a chick. The chicks have a pale yellow plumage that fades to white near the belly region.

What do they eat?

The border fancy canary diet includes small insects like water beetles, food grains, seeds, greens like weeds, grass, leafy vegetables, plant materials, fruits, and vitamin coated canary seeds available at a pet store.

Falcons often prey on them.

Are they dangerous?

These canary birds can be domesticated easily. They are quite friendly and are not dangerous to humans or our pet animals.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, border fancy canaries make excellent pets. They can be found, purchased, or adopted at pet stores, bird shows, or from breeders online. Here are some tips to help you be a good owner if you decide to keep them as pets.

Since canaries like wide-open spaces, you must purchase a roomy cage and install vertical bars and small perches within the cage of various sizes for them to hop and play on. Place at least one perch at a high level in the cage for them to rest on. The cage should be placed high, so they can look down and speak or sing to you. The cage should not be kept in an isolated place but rather in a lively environment such as your main living area. These canaries are friendly and enjoy having you in the same room but do not like to be held. When canaries are pregnant, you need to provide special food items that can be easily found at a pet store. Breeders often trim their feathers near the vent area to increase their breeding success. You can also try doing so but please be careful not to trim the feather that is coming directly off the vent because those are the guide feathers and are believed to help during mating.

Please check your local laws and regulations regarding these animals as pets.

Did you know...

Canaries have contributed tons to scientific research and studies related to neurogenesis. They have also been used several times to study how the brain of vertebrates functions, memorizes, and learns. Experiments conducted on them have also helped scientists better understand how passerines produce calls, notes, or their songs.

Domestic canaries are often bred and trained by humans to perform at events, concerts, and several songbird competitions.

Should you let a canary out of the cage?

Once your canary has found its way out of the cage, it will eventually return by tracing its path back home. As long as the whole area is bright enough to spot its cage, there should be no problem. Canaries are active birds and they may enjoy interacting with your family.

Do the canaries recognize their owners?

Canaries will vocalize in response to the sight of their owners. Male canaries may even start singing to you!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Inca dove facts and toucan facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable border canary coloring pages.