Main content

Atlantic (Island) Canary

Chris Packham presents the Atlantic canary, singing in the Tenerife treetops.

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Chris Packham presents the Atlantic canary singing in the Tenerife treetops. The ancestor of our cage-bird canaries is the Island or Atlantic Canary, a finch that is native to the Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands, which include Tenerife. The Canary Islands were named by early travellers "the islands of dogs from 'canis', the Latin for dogs, because of the many large dogs reputedly found there. And so the common and popular song-bird which is now a symbol of the islands became known as the canary. Unlike their domestic siblings, wild Island canaries are streaky, greenish yellow finches: males have golden- yellow foreheads, females a head of more subtle ash-grey tone. But it's the song, a pulsating series of vibrant whistles, trills and tinkling sounds; that has made the canary so popular. They were almost compulsory in Victorian and Edwardian parlours; a far cry from the sunny palm -fringed beaches of the Atlantic islands.

Available now

1 minute

Last on

Thu 1 Sep 2022 05:58

Atlantic (or Island) Canary (Serinus canaria)

Webpage image courtesy of Wild Wonders of Europe Relanzon / naturepl.com.

漏 Wild Wonders of Europe Relanzon / naturepl.com

Recording of island canary by Andrea L Priori / Ref: ML 79093

This programme contains a 聽kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; recorded by Andrea L Priori on 2 Jul 1992 , in Tompkins County, New York, USA.

Broadcasts

  • Wed 3 Dec 2014 05:58
  • Sun 7 Dec 2014 08:58
  • Tue 5 Jan 2016 05:58
  • Fri 7 Feb 2020 05:58
  • Tue 7 Sep 2021 05:58
  • Thu 1 Sep 2022 05:58

Podcast: Planet Puffin

Podcast: Planet Puffin

Exploring all things puffin - the silly and the serious, the scientific and the cultural.

Try this new podcast

Five stories of birds and birdsong are told by the people inspired by them.

Podcast