FINCHforum

Hello! I just got a fife canary, and he's adorable! He has a beautiful song, but some parts of it are very loud and high pitched. It's hard on the ears and I'm worried about neighbors complaining. I was wondering if playing bird songs on youtube might train him to sing in a lower pitch. Does anyone have experience with changing a canaries song or retraining a song?

I'd love to get him a female canary but it's not really an option. Plus I'm pretty sure he'd beat her up, he has a toy in his cage that has a yellow knotted string on it (I call it his girlfriend). He loves that toy and he goes after it pretty viciously.

Birb

I dont know anything about canaries, but the story about his "girlfriend"
cracked me up!

From studies, canary song is more genetic than learned. Roller canaries have a softer song. Rollers sing with their beaks closed. Some have both open and closed beak singing, like American Singers.

I've read that Belgian waterslagers sing a softer, gentle lower pitched song because they have a partial deafness to high pitched sounds.

My waterslager compared to my Spanish timbrado is the difference between an alto or mezzo soprano and a flamboyant coloratura soprano.

As to a companion: canaries are not social birds and do perfectly well by themselves. No need to get him a girl for company.

paul-inAZ

That is wonderful news. Bill and were talking about getting a cnaary for the kitchen in the spring. But I was in "finch" mode worried about the bird and company.

The kitchen is a busy place (people traffic), so it sounds like a good idea now. I'll pass that along to Bill! Thanks!

Birb

Hello and welcome to the Forum fellow Canadian

Regarding your loud screechy boy

Canaries, do learn to sing from their fathers, brothers, uncles and so forth.

They can and do learn different sounds and songs.

My Luciano, (Orange factor) had a lovely song when I got him. Then the Society Finches came along

Luciano, was housed with them, and fell in love with a pretty Society girl. Now the Society song, is sweet and cute, when sung by a Society; when sung by a Canary, it's a horror (as I was quick to find out, lol).

I played Canary songs every day for hours, and eventually moved the Socies into another flight. Luciano's song began to improve.

I eventually decided to breed my boy, and brought him two brides. Well Luciano's song almost instantly went back to normal Canary song. When his sons came along, he taught them a beautiful song, and the three boys are wonderful singers.

Canaries, do mimic different songs that they hear, even now picking up different sounds and songs.

Find Canary songs that you enjoy, and play them to him as often as possible, and as long as possible.

Good luck

I don't know anything about canaries, but I wanted to welcome you to the forum! We'd love to see photos of your canary. You have lots of company here in fellow Canadians.

I don't know if you can change the song of an adult Canary so easily but there are plenty of recordings out there, on CD and YouTube that you can try. I bought 2 CDs and my canary definitely gets stimulated to sing when I play them.

I recently bought my first Canary - an American Singer - luckily he has a "general canary" type of song that I like. But I also listened to some other Canary breeds on YouTube - and I was surprised - there are definitely some breeds with songs I don't like so much!


As for a companion, Canaries are territorial and are OK on their own - but you can always get another bird, in another cage, so he has company. I've heard/read that another male Canary (in another cage) might make a canary sing more and that a female, kept next to a male, might actually make a male sing less... but I have no personal experience with that. My Canary is actually fond of visiting my Budgie, when they are out flying around. He visits the Budgie's cage and the Budgie tolerates him pretty well. Here they are sharing veggies.


I would never CAGE a Budgie and Canary together - but they seem OK with short-term visits, with the door open for my Canary's escape if necessary (but so far, my male Budgie has shown no aggression).

Nipper06

Hey Ron...

What a cutie!

You are right about single Canaries being alright on their own. However, I have found personally, that they do enjoy other bird's company (as you can see with your Canary and Budgie, wonderful pictures by the way).

Male Canaries, can get into squabbling, and at times aerial fights (especially if there are females around. They get territorial and possessive, and at times downright foolish.

Regarding the singing:
Males will definitely sing around other males (unless you have a timid, extremely shy male) . They will actually have singing contests, as to who can sing loudest/best .

Regarding females:

Some males, will not sing if housed with a female (figuring I've got the girl, why bother).. Other males however will sing to their lady love, so go figure, shrug.

If a female is housed seperately, in a different cage, or a different room, the male will sing his head off.

Please post more pictures of your two feathered boys interacting .

lovezebs

Elana,

Thanks for clarifying and confirming what I read. I feel bad for birds that don't have ANY company! I think another bird, in another cage (even of a different species), is better than being all alone. My Canary ("Tweety") was a left-over from the previous year so he was probably used to being in a big cage with lots of other canaries before I got him. That may be why he seeks out my Budgie for company?

Have you ever tamed a canary? I got him to take hard-boiled egg from my hand but we haven't gotten much past that, as far as finger-taming goes. He did fly in the kitchen the other day, to visit me I think, so he is curious (about me - or the Quartz countertop) but probably still afraid of hands.


I tried to tempt him with some egg in my hand, while he was in the kitchen, and he did a few fly-by's around my head (maybe thinking about landing?) and then crouched like this by the sink. Does this pose mean anything?


p.s. sorry to hijack this thread !!

Nipper06

Hi Ron.

I have never tamed a Canary, but I have supplemented the babies with feeding, so they are not afraid of me.

When my Pokey, was not feeling well however, I was able to pick her up (with no fear and complete trust) and cuddle her and keep her warm.

With lots of patience, I do believe that you can teach your boy to come to you. They are curious, inquisitive birds, and are real gluttons for good food. Keep tempting him with egg food (and don't offer it in the cage for a while, only very close to you, and eventually in your hand ). Good luck.

The position that he's displaying in the picture, looks to me like he's ready to launch off, but not feeling very brave at that moment.

This link talks about studies done with canaries, and whether their song is learned or inherited. I think it says that it is some of both. And that some canaries might be genetically predisposed to either learn or not learn from a nearby bird.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24598419

So, the canary song question is further muddled. Some breeders say that after the first fall's singing, when there will be a lot of picked-up notes, the canary's song will revert to the breed type.

Male canaries in adjacent cages definitely have song contests, I see it every morning. And I know that if you introduce a male canary to a female canary's cage, singing becomes a lot less frequent.

Dave

Not going by sites or studies , rather by what I've experienced with my birdlings , shrug.