How to distinguish a kenar from a canary. Canary canary finch, canary Why canary

Why and how the canary sings

Canary, as an object of research different directions, has been used quite often, so it has been studied quite well.

For us, it is of interest, first of all, to study the song itself, the process of occurrence and the factors influencing it. Scientists from many countries devoted their research to this issue: Hess E.I., Hind R.A., Steele E.A., Stevenson I.G., Hutchison R.E., Wendon V., Thorpe V.H., Poulson and etc.

From these studies it follows that the song is one of the adaptations aimed at the survival of the species. The emergence of the song is due to such a phenomenon as "imprinting", i.e. imprinting, memorization.

Imprinting plays a huge role in the life of all highly organized biological beings, providing them with adaptation to changing conditions. natural conditions, and thus the survival and existence of the species.

There are two types of imprinting: visual and acoustic (sound). Visual helps to capture the species features of their parents, which provides further right choice sexual partner.

An example of visual imprinting is the following experiment. Canary eggs were laid on a pair of siskins. Siskins successfully fed the chicks. Subsequently, these canaries paired more easily with siskins than with canaries. Canary chicks fed by siskins imprinted them as parents and later chose sexual partners among siskins as well. The period of visual imprinting is shorter than that of sound imprinting, and usually lasts from the opening of the eyes of the chicks to the end of their feeding.

The purpose of acoustic imprinting is broader and also aimed at the survival of the species.

Its essence is the sound identification (determination) of the species partner, the sound marking of its nesting site in order to protect it from food competitors.

Sound identification of the species partner occurs in chicks during the nesting period, when they imprint ("remember") the voices of their parents.

As they mature and leave the nest, young birds also capture the sounds of the surrounding background. As adults and having settled in the nesting area, the bird also begins to "remember" the voices sounding around and include them in its song in order to show everyone around that this nesting area is occupied. This explains the difference in song even among individuals of the same species. Breeding chicks under conditions of different sound background leads to the inclusion in the song not only of the voices of their parents, but of the knees from the songs of other species.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that it is also superimposed individual differences in the development of the vocal apparatus.

It is these factors that explain the individual differences in the song of birds even of the same species.

The effect of imprinting occurs in strictly defined time periods. These periods are due to the periods of functioning of the sex glands (gonads). Testosterone (the secret of male gonads) kind of starts the imprinting system. Experience has shown that the introduction of testosterone in the inter-breeding period leads to the emergence of the susceptibility of the canaries to change the song, perceive and incorporate the sounds of the surrounding background into their song.

Some bird species are capable of significant song change throughout their lives. This is also another adaptation that gives additional chances for the survival of the species. To a greater extent, this is characteristic of migrant birds, which nest in a new place every year and are forced to include elements of a new sound background in their song. That is, a bird that grew up in one area, occupying a nesting area with a different sound background, includes the knees of local birds in the song to protect it.

Other birds have a little changed song. This is mainly characteristic of endemics, i.e. birds permanently residing in one place. The wild canary is endemic. She lives in one place, with practically little changing sound background.

Her song changes relatively weakly over time, i.e. genetically, the song of the wild canary is quite stable.

But during the period of domestication of the canary, man has shaken its genetic basis, expanded the range of perceived sounds. Through purposeful selection, singing breeds of canaries with different tonality of performance have been bred, which, like wild individuals, relatively steadily retain the breed song. The periods of stable preservation of the song in song breeds, as well as in the wild species, are disturbed at the moments of a hormonal surge and are confined mainly to periods of molting and reproduction. At this time, the male becomes receptive to imitation of most sounds. This explains why our canaries begin to change their song during these periods.

The release of testosterone can also be triggered by external circumstances. A stressful situation causes the body to release hormones into the blood, which also restore imprinting for the period of their action.

Some Pavlovsk canary breeders (according to the Moscow canary breeder P.I. Yalygin) used stress as positive factor when learning a song. For this, young kenars were laid out in cloth bags and hung freely. Stress exacerbated the susceptibility of the canaries to the teacher's song.

Stress, however, can also play a negative role. So, an unprepared kenar, who has not undergone preliminary training, finds himself in an unusual environment, with a different temperature, with a different lighting, sound background, can experience severe stress and greatly change the song.

Of course, during breeding by humans, the domestic canary has acquired many additional qualities: its vocal apparatus has developed, the range of perceived knees has become wider, the exterior has changed, etc. Man through directed selection has largely contributed to the development of many qualities.

Nevertheless, it would be wrong to believe that the canary, despite its long stay in the human home, began to differ in its biological essence from its wild companion.

A canary during the imprinting period can "take" into a song not only knees and stanzas of songbirds, but, as practice has shown, even a human voice. But her vocal apparatus, genetically tuned to perceive certain sounds corresponding to a given breed, most often cannot reproduce them clearly.

The canary emerges from the nest with the song model already in place. How this pattern manifests itself depends on many circumstances.

As already mentioned, a roller canary, in principle, can be taught a song of another breed (for example, timbrados or malinois), but these songs will be performed in a special roller style, i.e. with a covered beak and in lower tones. Such a song is "uncomfortable" for the roller, it does not correspond to the model laid down, and during the next surge of hormones (stress, breeding season or molting), he will strive to switch to a song that is more characteristic (genetically determined) of this breed.

Thus, the song of a canary is the result of the influence and interaction of the following factors: features of the genetic model of the song, pedigree features of the vocal apparatus, and features of the sound background during periods of imprinting.

If these factors are applied to the breed, then it is possible to determine the direction of work on creating a song.

Selection of canaries aimed at creating a specific genetic model of the song

Selection aimed at the development and consolidation of the features of the vocal apparatus

Creation of a sound background during the imprinting period corresponding to the genetic characteristics of the breed (song model)

Selection of a specific exterior that best suits the full disclosure of the canary's voice data

Upon reaching the coincidence of all these components, i.e. the conformity of the genetically embedded model of the song with the correspondingly developed vocal apparatus, physical development and the corresponding sound background during the imprinting period, you can get a real, full-fledged breed.

I would like to raise one more question. Many canary breeders aim to maximize the number of knees in a song. For this purpose, appropriate recordings are created and during the imprinting period they are given to canaries as a sound background. As a rule, the canary perceives ("remembers") most of the knees after a long listening. But in each particular song, she inserts a limited number of knees. Now she inserted one set, then sang with another set. Most often it is not possible to achieve that the canary performed all knees in one song.

What is the reason here?

Studies have shown that the song of the canary is limited in time, and it lasts no more than 45 seconds.

The bird can "remember" and play the song only within this time. Amateurs, on the other hand, most often do not take this fact into account and create recordings that are much longer in duration. What happens as a result? The same thing you will do if you are asked to say a long phrase in five seconds. Start throwing out some words. So the canary throws out the knees from the song, sorts them out, changes the set of knees! And we, not taking into account its capabilities, complain: here, they say, again threw out the beautiful “wader” from the song! Here is another reason why it is undesirable to teach canaries with an artificially created song (through a tape recorder or a CD).

How can one figuratively imagine the process of forming a song, (which means what should the training of young kenars be based on)? Let's digress a little from the canaries.

Imagine a plane in which holes are made in the form of holes. Holes of various sizes, shapes and depths. There are round and large holes, there are smaller and very small ones, triangular ones are also large, smaller and small, rectangular, trapezoidal, slotted, etc. All this is, as it were, a genetically formed field of a young canary, a model of his song, his genetically incorporated singing abilities, that is, the genetic ability of a canary to perform certain knees. Each hole is suitable only for a certain sound or knee.

Each sound or knee, tour, can be represented as some object of a certain shape and size. If this object, in its shape and size, strictly fits a certain hole, we get a pure reproduction of the knee and kenar for a long time and firmly include it in our song.

If there is no hole on the plane for the size and shape of the object (sound, knee, tour), it does not fall into the song. Kenar, with his given genetic capabilities, will not be able to perceive and subsequently reproduce it.

Sounds, tours and knees that deviate from the size and shape of the holes, but somehow fit into them, can be included in the song, but with certain distortions.

Let's consider two cases. In the first case, knowing the shape of all the holes (song model), we carefully selected the sounds-objects for each of them (teaching song or father-teacher) in advance and in the right period (imprinting period) filled all the holes carefully and in accordance with the shape and size . With the appropriate development of the vocal apparatus and physical development, as a result we get a pure, distortion-free song,

In another, we do not know anything about the features of the holes and, nevertheless, we select an assortment of sounds-objects in order to fill the field. Do we have confidence in the coincidence of objects and holes? Of course not. Nevertheless, definitely, some items will match, some will not, and somewhere items will enter, but with difficulty.

As a result, in both cases, the kenars will have a song. Let's even assume such an incredible case that the songs turned out to be of the same quality. In the first case, the song is genetically identical, in the second - no. In the first case, the song is created on the basis of the innate abilities of this individual. In the second, randomly.

What happens if you shake these planes (the next imprinting period)? In the first case, little will change: all objects lie tightly in their holes, i.e. the song will retain all its qualities. In the second, something will fall out of the holes and the song will change radically and lose its qualities. Where objects were simply poured, most of the holes will be freed and again filled according to an arbitrary plan.

What kind of canary do we need? The one whose song matches her genetic potential and persists for a long time, glorifying her creator? or the one whose song is played only during the competition and disappears at any moment, leaving only a memory?

The course has limited dimensions and a limited number of holes. This means that the canary can perceive and reproduce a limited number of sounds and knees.

No matter how much we pour objects on the field, the number of holes will be constant and the song will consist of limited quantity knees. It is possible that artificial selection can increase the number of wells, i.e. increase the ability of the canary to perceive more knees. But here the question of expediency arises. Does this make sense given the time limit allotted by nature for a canary song (about 40-45 seconds)? Which is better: beautifully, distinctly and with variations, perform 5-6 knees or a tongue twister and, most likely, sing 10-15 knees indistinctly. This question flows into the question of the relationship between quality and quantity.

The songbird in the house perfectly cheers up people of all ages. I have long dreamed of having such a pet, as I spend most of my time at home. Good singing and easy care were indispensable conditions for the choice. Kenar in this regard is the best option, and now I’ll tell you why.

Canary singing

Amazing. You can listen to it by scoring the corresponding request in any search engine. All kenars can be divided into colored and singing ones. If you want a bird with really amazing vocal abilities, you need to choose not for the brightness of the color and originality appearance but only by voice.

For example, my kenarik looked quite inconspicuous against the background of cells with
the rest of the pink, red and orange counterparts, but his singing conquered immediately. Now, watching it every day, I cannot imagine a more beautiful bird.

It is very important that the bird's voice be pleasant and clear, as you will listen to it a lot. The canary begins to sing almost with the first rays of the sun and can continue all day (with short breaks), ending with the lighting in the room turned off. In the dark, the kenar does not sing, therefore, if the smallest member of the family has become "too much", the cage can be covered with a light dense cloth. I personally never do this, mine does not annoy me at all, and in the early morning it does not interfere with sleep even in summer.

As far as care is concerned,

then everything is very simple. Every morning and every evening, the kenar needs to pour 1 teaspoon of the grain mixture into the feeder. In addition, once every couple of days, the bird needs soft food, it can be grated carrot (1 tsp), 1/2 hard-boiled egg yolk, finely chopped or a sprig of greens, 1/5 apple, a small ring of banana, grated white cabbage, Beijing leaf or lightly boiled broccoli. Moreover, there is no need to adhere to any system - what is in the house, then let's. The main thing is only one type of soft food per day.

Today an apple, a couple of days later a carrot, then an egg... And do not forget to remove the soft food in the evening, because it can deteriorate overnight and there is a risk of poisoning the bird.

water in the drinker you need

change daily, be sure to thoroughly rinse the drinker. In principle, if you are leaving for the weekend, then nothing terrible will happen if the drinker stands for 2 days (just fill it so that there is enough water), but not longer.

Kenar is very likes to swim.

Especially on sunny days. At least once every two days he needs to put
bath, but he does water procedures so funny that the chores with the bath are more of a pleasure than a burden.

Expenses

for everything you need for this bird is almost a penny. From the accessories you need to purchase: a cage, a feeder for mineral sand, a feeder for a grain mixture, a feeder for soft food, a drinking bowl, a bath. There are options for cages for kenars, where everything you need is included. I didn't have a bath.

By the way, I bought a bath from Trixie, which is suspended from the outside of the cage doors and is closed on all sides except for the entrance with transparent plastic. This design is very convenient, since water is not sprayed in all directions and the bird will not clog it from above.

From edible you need to buy a grain mixture, mineral sand, mineral stone. In addition, pamper your pet with various spikelets of cereals - the bird loves to bite off the grains itself, and this is useful for the beak.

Now about shortcomings.

Although the bird is a big clean in terms of bathing and the state of the drinker-feeders, it litters itself and how. She can scatter grain feed within a radius of up to 70 cm! around the cell. Yes, it scatters
there are not so many kenars, but it all has to be cleaned every day anyway. So put the cage away from household appliances, beds / sofas and other items on which you do not want to observe grain scattering. It is optimal if the cage is on a separate shelf or cabinet, around which there is free access for cleaning. In addition to grain, the kenar will also scatter feathers, fortunately only once a year, during molting.

In the photo you can see that my Yshik is standing near the computer - this is not very correct. First, sor. Secondly, loud sounds are unpleasant for the bird itself, and I also have a column here (but I originally wrote that I needed an undemanding animal, that's why I bought a bird - they are more enduring). Thirdly, my husband is a furniture maker, because the whole structure that you see is on wheels. Guess how my morning starts? That's right - sweep up our little bird. And the back wall, which looks like the back of the throne, blocks (partially) debris from falling into hard-to-reach places. By the way, everything is divided between us and the bird: the top drawer for Ysh, the second one for me (sweets / mascara), the third one for my husband (business cards / business papers, yes, I know they are called documents!), and the fourth one performs a particularly important function - there are stored chargers for mobile phones, adapters from a gadget to another, in short, all the snake-like brotherhood. By the way, I advise all reading women to have such a box - very convenient! So the bird also brought practical benefits. But get the box anyway, though my missus manages to leave it anyway, either charging for a book in the kitchen, or from the body on the balcony .. Well, yes, we still have the family that uses the camera, telephone and e-book as separate family members. Well, at least you don’t have to wear pictures for development). But I digress.)

Having acquired a canary,

you won't be able to travel often. Traveling can be traumatic for a bird.
psychologically and physically, although there are special
transport cells. You can leave the bird alone for no longer than 2 days. I found a way out in a responsible comrade who, during my vacation, visits the bird once every two days and strictly fulfills everything according to the list printed out to him as a guide.

Again about singing.

It is necessary that you and other family members really like how the bird sings. Among about 30 of my friends and acquaintances, there were 5 people who are frankly annoyed by the singing of my bird. Some to such an extent that they ask me to go to another room even during a telephone conversation with them. At the same time, the canary can simply whistle softly, and not sing its most sonorous trills. Imagine what it would be like for such people to live in the same house with my bird, and even more so to take care of it.

Kenar is a smart, sociable, funny, undemanding bird in maintenance and care. But, like any other pet, it needs to be loved. Only then all the minuses become pluses, and small inconveniences become pleasant chores.

Instruction

Try to hear the song of a young canary, as vocal abilities are considered its main sexual difference. However, you should wait until the chick is more than six months old. By the 4th month, these birds end their juvenile molt, and they are gaining strength. Babies (both males and females) can make timid ones, so it is extremely difficult to accurately determine their gender. In addition, some begin to sing in full voice only at the age of one.

Watch mature birds. Kenar always shows more interest in singing, every time he "plays music" louder and diversifies the repertoire. Notice how strong his throat is. In rare cases, it can also master singing, but its roulades do not differ in beauty and richness. The neck of the female does not swell; more familiar sounds for her are squeaking, whistling and cooing.

Try to distinguish a kenar from a female canary by external signs. Usually the tail " " is a little shorter. Carefully turn the bird upside down and blow on the feathers in the lower abdomen. In female birds, the cloaca looks flat; in "boys" it is convex, has the shape of a small cylinder. If you hold a cockerel under the tail, he will actively resist; the chicken “shamefully” will press its paws. However, the described method for determining the sex of a canary does not give a 100% guarantee.

If an exquisite song helps to identify a canary, then a female canary is her first egg. In the second half of March, prepare a nesting cage or watch the birds at the breeder. Birds (among which presumably there are pairs) should fly freely around the room or in the aviary. An important condition for a normal "marriage" is the age of the birds from 11-18 months to 4 years and good health.

Now the most common breeds of canaries are yellow, "canary" color. But it was not always so.

In 1495, the Italian artist Giovanni Pietro da Birago, illustrating a handwritten Latin textbook for the young Duke Sforza, first depicted two yellow canaries.

Science and life // Illustrations

At the beginning of the 15th century, Spanish sailors, returning to Europe from the Canary Islands, began to bring with them strange souvenirs - finches with plumage of an uninteresting gray-greenish color. Sailors called them "Canarian birds". But when such a modest-looking bird opened its beak, bewitching sounds poured out of it.

Wonderful singers (only males sing among canaries) quickly fell into favor with the royals of Europe. The birds were so rare that it was not considered shameful for the king to send such a gift to another monarch. Canaries were kept in gilded cages. To ordinary people they were unavailable. Although birds were caught and sent to the continent by the hundreds, the Canary birders and their intermediaries specifically traded only males so that no one could breed valuable birds. In 1555, the German zoologist Konrad Gesner noted in his work "History of Animals": "These birds are very expensive everywhere, firstly, because of their sweet voice, and secondly, because they are brought rarely, from afar, with great they are carefully looked after along the way, so that they are accessible only to high-born persons.

Although the Spaniards tried to keep females out of Europe, however, since both sexes are similar in appearance, some females still ended up among the imported goods. Germany became the breeding center, and until recently it was believed that it was the Germans who bred the yellow canary. This opinion was based on three drawings of canaries discovered in the 1920s in a rare German book on birds published in 1610. Two were normal, grey-green, and the third had white wings and extensive yellow spots all over the body. From this, ornithologists concluded that a mutant specimen of the canary was found around that time, and since the first written mention of yellow canaries dates back to 1677, it is obvious that the breeding of yellow birds took several decades.

Now we know that the color of the plumage of the canary is determined by several independent genes, which makes it unlikely that a yellow mutation will appear in a wild population, especially in a relatively small one: there are now about 160,000 wild canaries in their homeland. So the breeding of the yellow bird could well take several decades.

However, a recent discovery by the English ornithologist Tim Birkhead showed that the canary may have turned yellow two centuries earlier than the generally accepted date. He found a handwritten Latin textbook, illustrated with miniatures, written around 1495 for Duke Maximilian Sforza, who was then 5-6 years old. The powerful Sforza family ruled Milan for almost a hundred years. Two drawings depict typical yellow canaries, and one of them shows a bird being fed a panicle of millet, a favorite food for canaries. So for the first time yellow canaries were bred in Italy. But most likely, says Birkhead, this line just died out. The dukes could hardly lend such a rare bird to others for crossing and breeding, especially since, as already mentioned, there were almost no females in Europe. And the German breeders had to start crossing and selecting from the beginning, on their own.

Your birds. Or unscrupulous owners who did not arrange proper living conditions for the canaries. Canary singing may also disappear for natural reasons. Let's see why this happens.

Maybe it's all about shedding

Shedding is the most common reason for singing to stop. While the plumage is changing, the bird's body spends a lot of energy and vital substances. Because of this, the activity of the kenar decreases, it becomes lethargic, drowsy, and may partially or completely stop singing.

stressful situations

Kenar is able to stop singing for a long time if he has experienced great stress. Perhaps he was recently moved to a new place of residence - a sudden change of scenery can scare the bird.

The psychological state of the canary can be influenced by pets. The cat may suddenly attack the cage and try to stick its paws into it. Or a dog will start to visit the canary and bark at him. And if there are small children in the new house, they will easily scare the bird by shaking the cage.

The landlord must explain to the children how to behave with the new tenant. The kenar itself must be left alone for a few days. You need to hang a cage with a bird in a quiet room, close the door so that the animals cannot get to it. At first, only the owner can enter the room to change the canary's food and water.

The kenar has a very delicate ear. Any loud, harsh, unpleasant noise can cause the bird to experience shock and stop singing. Such situations include:

  • repair;
  • the arrival of a large number of guests;
  • noisy feast;
  • loud music;
  • loud quarrels of the owners;
  • constant crying of the baby.

It is better to protect the canary from such situations, otherwise it will not only refuse, but also become depressed. In this state, the bird can wither and die.

An unsuccessful acquaintance with a female can also force a kenar to give up singing. If the female dislikes the male, she will start pecking at him and chasing him all over the cage. After such stress, the canary will sing only when he comes to his senses.

If poorly maintained, the kenar may become silent

Canary singing is strongly influenced by poor living conditions. The cage may hang in the wrong place, where the constant movement of the household distracts the bird. And if the cage is installed near the TV, then its sounds will drown out the canary. And he simply does not want to "shout" them. Frequent permutation of the cell may also affect.

Failure to comply with sanitary standards, especially in outdoor enclosures during the hot season, often leads to the spread of tracheal mites. Because of his activities, the canar will be silent for a long time.

To avoid the appearance of a tick, it is necessary to regularly treat bird dwellings and internal equipment with steam, boiling water or Disinsectal. The disinfectant must be thoroughly rinsed with warm water. Periodic inspection of birds is required.

Sudden changes in temperature, drafts, dry air, life in the dark and other inconsistencies in the conditions of detention also have a bad effect on the condition of the little singer. He can not only stop singing, but also.

Painful silence

A sick canary sings little and without hunting. Often he generally shuts up, as he does not feel well. In addition, the bird can eat poorly or completely refuse to eat, sit for a long time in one place with a ruffle, suffer from diarrhea or constipation, go bald, cough, wheeze.

In this case, you need to contact your veterinarian.

Eat, sleep - rest

The desire of a kenar to sing is influenced by the length of daylight, both natural and artificial. Basically, a decrease in the song activity of birds is observed in winter. But this is necessary - the canary needs to be given time to rest, sleep and gain strength.

Sometimes the owners, trying to get a lot of chicks, arrange a long light period for the canaries all year round. In such a rhythm, the birds do not have time to rest. Regular stimulation of activity often leads to their depletion. If we add to this poor-quality or monotonous food, then it is no wonder that the kenar fell silent.

Excess weight is one of the causes of the problem

Singing Kenar can become silent if he has typed excess weight. Obese birds lead a sedentary lifestyle. They generally lose the desire to do anything, and even more so to strain for long trills.

To determine if a kenar is overweight, it must be placed in the hand with its back to the palm. Then blow on the tummy. With obesity, yellow bumps will be visible on it - subcutaneous fat.

This must be done carefully so that the bird does not inhale the carbon dioxide released during exhalation. Otherwise, she may die.

To remedy the situation, the kenar needs to be transferred to a diet. For one to two weeks, his daily diet should consist of corn or rice porridge, rice water. In order not to harm the bird's body with limited nutrition, its menu should also include vitamins and means to increase immunity.

Regular walks around the room will also help the kenar lose weight. When he regains his normal physical form, he will sing again.

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