INTRODUCTION.
Among the birdskept for household pets none is more common or better known than the canary. So simple are its requirements in the way of food and care that it needs little attention, and because of its pleasing songs and interesting habits it is a universal favorite. Readily adaptable to cage life, canaries display little of the fear shown by wild birds in captivity, and the ease with which they may be induced to nest and rear young adds to their popularity.
Canaries have been domesticated for several hundred years and, though more common in western Europe and the United States than elsewhere, have been carried over practically the entire civilized world. In England and Germany there are hundreds of canary breeders and many avicultural societies. Several periodicals dealing solely with cage birds are published there, and in the larger cities bird exhibitions are held annually. Similar activities in the United States, while of younger growth, are making considerable progress.
During the 10-year period prior to 1915 more than 3,250,000 canaries were imported into the United States, mainly from Germany and England. With the continuance of the World War the number brought in decreased steadily, until it fell from an average of more than 1,000 birds per day in 1914 to about 10,000 for the year 1918. Importations from Germany practically ceased, and comparatively few birds were to be obtained from England, so that dealers were forced to look to the Orient, mainly to China, for the small number secured. This depression continued until 1920, but with return to more normal conditions in 1921, about 70,000 were imported, and in 1922 more than 150,000, largely from the former sources in Europe as well as the Orient.
Canaries seem to thrive in any climate where not exposed to too severe weather conditions, and in spite of the long period they havebeen protected and held in captivity they are capable of enduring a surprising degree of cold when hardened to it. In England it is not unusual to find them in outdoor aviaries throughout the year, and in the comparatively mild climate of California they thrive under these conditions. They seem able to establish themselves again in a wild state under favorable circumstances. A brood of domestic canaries released in 1909 on Midway Island, a sandy islet in the Hawaiian group, had increased by 1914 until it was estimated that it numbered about 1,000.