Canaries and the mysteries of colour: Here is what you didn’t probably know
Do you remember Tweety Pie in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons by Warner Bros? Well, it was a yellow canary. Canary is a small songbird that has been bred in captivity since the 17th century. Canaries have been a long-time favourite of bird keepers as they are highly intelligent, chirpy and easier to train when kept as pets. As a result, they have been bred into nearly 200 different species, just like dogs.
A type of finch, these chirpy companion birds readily breed with other species of finches. This hybridization is what has led to uniquely coloured canaries. For example, red canaries have resulted from breeding domestic canaries with a South American finch called red siskins. Let’s explore more about how these tiny songbirds are found in so many exciting colour variants and the mystery behind their colour changing feature. Yes, you read that right. Canaries change colour.
A riot of colours
As we know that the colour of a bird is dependent on the genes that are responsible for its pigmentation. Myriad genes contribute to the variation in colours of canaries and the spectrum of pigmentation brings out the subtleties. Due to the selective breeding of the domestic canaries, they now come in a real range of bright colours, right from orange and white to red and yellow. This is quite a take-off from the original wild canaries that originally came to Europe.
There are three main layers of colours seen in them: Yellow, green and black. These layers are present underneath each other. Wild canaries are mainly greenish yellow in colour with yellow underparts. Due to the presence of brown melanin pigment, their underpart is yellow. The black detailing of the bird is due to black melanin pigments.
Five factors, namely, black melanin, brown melanin, lipochrome red, lipochrome yellow, and white are the basis of the numerous colour variations. Depending on the way they are bred, we can see a wide variety of colours.
Now, let's understand the two main factors that are responsible for their colours i.e., melanin and lipochrome:
- Melanin: The presence of the pigment melanin is responsible for the black and brown hues. This pigment may be present in varying degrees in their feathers, affecting their final shades. More the melanin, darker the colour of canaries.
- Lipochrome: The lipochrome pigment is the base colour. This is yellow in the wild canary and includes a dominant white gene, recessive white and red genes. The lipochrome and melanin colours combine to produce the shades such as green, blue, bronze, cinnamon, fawn and brown.
Changing hues
The initial or original colour of the canary and whether its feathers will change their colour depends on the genetics and dietary regimen. There are unique genetic factors that give canaries their vibrant colours. They change their colours in decreasing intensity. For example, a red canary can turn yellow, and a yellow one can turn white. The reverse, however, is not possible. To some extent, diet and nutrition are important factors behind the changing colours of canaries. Some canaries are fed certain foods to enhance the colour of the plumage. The process is called colour feeding.
A red canary’s diet if kept high in beta carotenoids and canthaxanthin that help them keep their colour. It must begin before the canary starts to moult, at about 6 to 8 weeks of age. If their diet lacks carotenoids during their moulting, when they shed their feathers and obtain a new plumage, they will turn yellow. They can regain their colour if fed well in their next moulting cycle. The moulting period of a canary depends on when their breeding period began. The canaries moult once a year after their breeding period. The usual period spans between June and August. Moulting lasts anywhere between 4 to 5 weeks. Young canaries moult after they are at least two months old.
Quick fact
Did you know that the Canary is named after the Canary Islands? Wild canaries are native to Canary Islands as well as the Azores and the Spanish Madeira Islands. They came to Europe via Spanish soldiers returning from these islands. Being bred since the 17th century, the canaries we see today are genetically quite different from the wild canaries.