There is no doubt that canaries are the most popular pet birds around the world. Their success is due to their beauty, their magnificent song and the fact that it is super easy to take care of them. Nevertheless, you should know that a good dose of dedication is necessary in order to maintain optimal hygiene, to offer them adequate preventive medicine, to prevent the most common diseases in canaries, as well as to devote time to them in order to so they can fly and exercise at home.
Popularly, the term "canary" refers to all domestic birds belonging to the species Serinus canaria domestica. Nevertheless, there are several breeds of canaries.
How many breeds of canaries are there?
Currently we know more than 30 types of canaries, it is the species of domestic bird the most abundant in the world with the parakeets. Although there are many possible classifications, canary breeds are generally divided into three major groups:
Singing canaries: in this group we find the most popular breeds in canary farming. This is due to their incredible ability to learn to reproduce complex melodies. In the next boxes we will see together the main breeds of singing canaries.
Canaries by color: this is certainly the most basic classification of canaries, as it is based on the color of their feathers. It is divided into subgroups according to the predominant pigments of their plumage, lipochromic canaries (dominant and recessive shades of white, yellow and red) and melanic canaries (colors black, agate, green, brome, isabelle, brown and chestnut) .
Posture canaries: these canaries must present certain very specific morphological characteristics in order to be incorporated into this group. It is divided into 5 major subgroups: the curly-feathered canaries; smooth-feathered canaries; crested canaries; smooth-feathered canaries; and designer canaries.
Find out how to improve the song of your canary!
5 Singing Canary Breeds
As we have mentioned, the singing canaries are the best known in canariculture, since one of the most valued characteristics of this species is their vocal capacity. Of all the breeds of singing canaries, 5 breeds of canaries stand out:
Spanish Timbrado
A breed originating in Spain that has preserved some characteristics inherited from the native forest canaries of the Canary Islands. It is not an ancient breed because its creation occurred between the decades of the 40 and 50. Their varied, powerful and joyful song, for many fans of canary farming, recalls the sound of castanets.
American singer canary
As its name suggests, it is a breed created in the United States between the 1930s and 1940s. American singer canaries are very popular for their varied and melodic song as well as for their excellent state of health and for their robust and attractive appearance.
Belgian malinois or waterslager canary
The name "waterslager" is a reference to the ability of these Belgian canaries to imitate the sound of mountain streams. This is a very old type of canary, created in Belgium in the 18th century. Until today, the only recognized variety of the Belgian Malinois canary must have completely yellow plumage and black eyes. They are also very popular for their large and robust appearance, in addition to their incredible vocalizing ability.
Russian canary (russian singer)
The Russian Singer is the least popular of these 5 singing canary breeds. Nevertheless, its popularity has been growing in recent decades, this is due to their beauty as well as the fact that it has qualities similar to those of the German roller.
Types of Posture Canaries
The posture canaries include 5 subgroups defined according to the most typical morphological characteristics of these varieties. Below we present to you the most popular types of canaries of each of the subgroups of canaries.
Curly-feathered posture canaries
As we said, next we present the canaries belonging to the first of the posture canary subgroups:
Italian canary or gibber itálicus
This is a young breed originating in Italy, created in the middle of the 20th century from several specimens of canaries with curly feathers from the South. They are medium-sized birds with curved bodies, sparse plumage that can come in various colors, and serpentine reminiscences on the head and neck.
Tenerife canary melado
This breed of Spanish canary created during the 20th century stands out for its mixed plumage which combines voluminous and curly feathers with smooth, silky and compact feathers. Is accepted a wide range of colors on their plumage.
Spanish giboso canary
This type of canary first appeared as an unwanted result of selective crosses between the extinct Seville canaries. Its curly plumage is elegant, formed by delicate and well-defined curls which should not appear in abundance.
Frieze of Paris
This type of canary of French origin was created from selective crosses between Lancashire canaries and North Curly. According to many experts in canariculture, this breed of canary can be considered the curly canary par excellence. It arose in the 19th century, its curly plumage is elegant, voluminous and all varieties of colors are accepted. Its most characteristic physical distinction is the well-known one like "tail of cock".
Other curly canary breeds tipos de canarios rizados
North Frieze
South Frieze
fiorino canary
Italian giant curly canary
Padovan curly canary
Swiss curly canary
Smooth feathered posture canary breeds
If in the previous article you were told about the curly canary subgroup, in this one we are going to tell you about the smooth-feathered posture canaries:
belgian humpback canary
Originally, this Belgian variety was born from the natural mutation of the Ghent Canary, a breed currently extinct, in the middle of the 17th century. They are medium-sized and robust birds, with silky plumage that can have solid or mottled coloration, but on which reddish tones are not accepted.
Le Munchener
Cette race de canari d'origine allemande créée au XX ème siècle et qui se distingue pour sa poitrine fine et un dos fin et maigre. Son plumage est lisse et bien collé à son corps et il peut être uniforme ou tacheté, n'acceptant pas la coloration rougeâtre.
Canari hoso japonais
Voici une des rares races de Canaris qui ont été développées hors de l'Europe. Pour sa création ont été utilisées des canaris frisés du Sud, mais présentement le canari hoso japonais a un plumage lisse et soyeux qui accepte toutes les tonalités.
Canary scotch fancy
Created in Scotland in the 19th century, this breed is the result of selective crosses between the Dutch canary, the Glasgow canary and the Belgian humped canary. Its body is elegant and stylized, with silky and smooth plumage which can be uniform or mottled. It is distinguished by its crescent shape with slightly curved legs, a characteristic inherited from the extinct Glasgow Canary species.
Crested Canary Breeds
Crested canaries are characterized by having a kind of fringe that gives them a unique appearance.
crested canary
This breed of English canary created in the 19th century is one of the most popular in the whole world. For its creation were made selective crosses between Lancashire and Norwich canaries. Its characteristic puff is round, symmetrical and well centered. Its plumage is abundant, completely smooth and silky, and the reddish color is not accepted.
Canarian Lancashire
This traditional breed of canary from the United Kingdom is one of the largest and most robust breeds, easily reaching 23 cm in length. He has a strong chest and a powerful back. The most recognized specimens are yellow, but their smooth plumage allows the appearance of different colors, except for orange and reddish.
Canary Gloster
Also of English origin, this is another of the most popular and popular breeds of canaries. It is characterized by its small size, its powerful and slightly large body, and its smooth and glued plumage. Although specimens with puffs are more popular, there are also Gloster canaries without puffs.
german crested canary
This breed originally from Germany was created from crosses between the Gloster canary and several colored canaries from Germany. It was officially recognized in the 60s, so it is one of the youngest and most recent breeds of canaries. Its puff extends to the part of the beak and the nape of the neck, but it never hides its eyes. All varieties of colors on the smooth plumage of the German Crested Canary are accepted.
