FINCHforum

Hello,
I have 4 canaries: 1 mature male that I keep in a cage indoor near a window and 3 juvenile ones (1 male & 2 females) that I keep in an outdoor aviary in my back patio. The adult male (Ra) could hear but not see the other canaries in the aviary. Lately, Ra has been singing his heart out almost all day, and staring out the window much of the time. His song sounds happy to me, but I'm a new canary owner so what do I know. Does the constant singing mean that Ra is happy or is he lonely and singing to call out to other canaries?
Thanks

30minutestoBob is my canary guru...so I would of coarse defer to him...but from what I know about canaries, they are not social the way finch are. Your male is fine alone .

I agree, they are more of a solo bird unless breeding. Sometimes when owners do put them with other canaries or species they tend not to sing as much. So singing is a happy thing! I had a red factor and he sang to me all day I loved it!!

Ginene, Harley2013

Thanks for your input. Great to know that the singing means Ra is happy. His songs brighten up my days so much that I'd hate to think of him as being lonely & calling for other canaries. His lovely songs is the reason I've kept him indoor near me instead of in the outdoor aviary.

I used to also believe that canaries were not social but after putting another cage with another canary near him it's unbelievable how truly social these birds are! Even another male in a separate cage near another one and you will see that they form a tight bond (of course you would never house two males in the same cage as they are territorial). At times when I remove one of the cages for cleaning they begin calling out to each other hysterically like "bring back my friend!" And won't stop until reunited. I personally think they are more social than made out to believe, I've seen my male sing more, eat more and just be all around happier when around other birds, they truly enjoy companionship.

Hi there,

I have a canary who I keep with a star finch and zebra finch (all male, all in separate cages). Canaries may be naturally solitary in the wild, but I have read articles online (and on this forum) where people suggest that the inclusion of DNA from the Red head siskin (and other species) which are naturally much more social than the original wild stock our domestic canaries are descended from may cause them to be much more social. My canary Kevin loves my Zebra finch, Beaky, but also likes having the other finch around - they all continuously chirrup to each other.

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher
Proud owner of:
*Kevin aka “The Old Man” – very cranky canary – 13 years old and rules the Roost!
*Beaky aka “Beaky Beak” the Zebrafinch – 1 year old – and a real, real cutie!!!
*Merlin aka “Merl” the Starfinch – 3 ½ years old – and “bossy as anything for such a small fry!”

The 3 canaries that I keep in the mixed aviary are pretty social with each other, as well as with other finches. In fact, I saw 2 of the canaries roosting with a zebra and some societies tonight. They looked adorable huddling together.

My canaries are pretty social. When I let them fly around, they tend to stay close to each other. However, canaries need their personal space, and you might get two that refuse to share a cage and will harass each other.
Also, while singing is a sign of a healthy canary, singing is a territorial behavior. So your canary does sing more when he hears the others because he is staking out his territory.

My canaries are very social. I have 4 hens in a flight and 3 makes by themselves but that is because i plan to breed and i need to control genetics. They are always calling to pone another. Also singing does not mean the bird is happy, it means he is lonely. Canaries sing to attract mates and studies show that canaries tend to form life kind partnerships if they are not seperated by human interference

DanteD716
Does each of your 3 males get separate cages or do you keep all 3 males in the same cage?

vienneparis each male is alone. They are singing up a storm because they want their mates but they'll be placed together when breeding season comes

DanteD716
Good to know. I don't feel so bad about my canary being by himself. He'll just have to wait until mating season to get a roomate

vienneparis wrote: DanteD716
Good to know. I don't feel so bad about my canary being by himself. He'll just have to wait until mating season to get a roomate

oh don't feel bad! I feel bad too though