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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Atlantic Canary

Serinus canaria

• rare
• 42 km/h
• Least Concern

Every cage canary descends from this bird.

Population

Roughly 80,000–90,000 pairs in the Canary Islands, 30,000–60,000 pairs in the Azores, and 4,000–5,000 pairs on Madeira (~114,000–155,000 pairs total in native range)

Habitat

Wide variety of semi-open habitats including pine and laurel forests, sand dunes, orchards, copses, parks, and gardens, from sea level to over 1,500 m elevation

Fun fact

Every domestic canary breed alive today — from the plain "wild-type" green canary to fancy song and color varieties — descends from the Atlantic Canary, first brought to Europe by Spanish/Portuguese sailors in the late 14th/15th century and domesticated soon after.

Range

Endemic to the Macaronesian islands of the eastern Atlantic: the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira; introduced populations exist elsewhere (e.g. Bermuda, Midway Atoll, Ascension Island)

Diet

Mainly seeds of weeds, grasses, and figs, plus other plant material and occasional small insects

Size

0.11 m

Wingspan

0.22 m

Lifespan

10 years