Male incubating?

[Rob]

One of my pairs of canaries, the female has been incubating for almost two weeks, and this weekend I noticed her out of the nest for an extended period of time. It was a hot day, so I figured maybe this was the reason. I then saw the male incubating off and on, as well as carrying newspaper around in his mouth. After thinking about this, I thought: could it be that my male is in fact female? If so, the eggs in the nest are infertile, but I don't want to move anyone or anything until I know for sure. What's the best way to proceed?

[Dave]

You'll know any day now. Two weeks is the incubation period for Canaries.

I've seen a male sit in a nest for short periods. I've also seen a male carry some nesting material but not with the urgency that a hen does.

Clear eggs don't necessarily mean you have two females. Sometimes the first round of eggs is infertile, and the 2nd will result in chicks. Especially with a first-year pair.

[Sheather]

My males will crouch over the eggs when the female is up feeding, but they do not sit. They also like to rip newspaper and twiddle it in their beaks but only hens carry it in the back of the beak.

[Rob]

Turns out he is a she. I blew on the vent and confirmed, and now have her with a male, and the other female with another male (I caught him sitting in the nest as well, but he's definitely a male).

[Flight Feathers]

One of my pairs of canaries, the female has been incubating for almost two weeks, and this weekend I noticed her out of the nest for an extended period of time. It was a hot day, so I figured maybe this was the reason. I then saw the male incubating off and on, as well as carrying newspaper around in his mouth. After thinking about this, I thought: could it be that my male is in fact female? If so, the eggs in the nest are infertile, but I don't want to move anyone or anything until I know for sure. What's the best way to proceed?

My male would sit on the eggs with my female and he’d also sit when the female was out of the nest. If your male has never sang then I’d assume it’s a she.