Canary

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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Canary | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Aves | ordo = Passeriformes | familia = Fringillidae | genus = Serinus | species = S. canaria | binomial = Serinus canaria | binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) }}

For other uses, see Canary (disambiguation).

This article is about the wild bird that inhabits islands off western Africa and Europe. For the domesticated varieties of this bird, see Pet Canary.

The Canary (Serinus canaria) sometimes called the Island Canary or Atlantic Canary is a small songbird which is a member of the finch family.

This bird is native to Madeira and the Canary Islands. The bird was named after the Canary Islands, not the other way around; "Canary" is derived from the Latin "canaria", "of the dogs", referring to the numerous wild dogs that inhabited the islands.

Its habitat is semi-open areas such as orchards and copses, where it nests in bushes or trees.

The wild bird is 12.5 to 13.5 cm long, yellow-green, with streaking on its back. It is larger, longer and less contrasted than its relative the Serin, and has more grey and brown in its plumage.

The song is a silvery twittering like the Goldfinch.

Canaries were once regularly used in coal mining as an early warning system. Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and methane in the mine would kill the bird before affecting the miners. Because canaries tend to sing much of the time, they provided both a visual and audible cue in this respect. The use of Canaries in British mines was phased out as recently as 1986. However, Canaries were also used by the first Mercedes-Benz airbag designers. They were often placed in passenger compartments to check for leaks from the airbag.

This species is often kept as a pet.

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Trivia

Canaries have been depicted in cartoons from the middle 20th century as being harassed by domestic cats; the most famous cartoon canary is Warner Brothers' "Tweety Bird".

Norwich City, a English football team is nicknamed 'the canaries' due to their yellow colour scheme.

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