canary

Bird (Serinus canaria) of the finch family Fringillidae, found wild in the Canary Islands and Madeira. In its wild state the plumage is green, sometimes streaked with brown. The wild canary builds its nest of moss, feathers, and hair in thick high shrubs or trees, and produces two to four broods in a season.

Canaries have been bred as cage birds in Europe since the 15th century, and many domestic varieties are yellow or orange as a result of artificial selection.

Some canaries were used in mines as detectors of traces of poison gas in the air.