Wild canary (Serinus canaria)
Original title: Canario da Terra. (Serinus canaria)
The wild canary, a finch common throughout Madeira and endemic to the Macaronesian archipelagos, ancestor of the domestic canary.
A bird of the finch family (Fringillidae), common throughout these islands. It does not migrate on long voyages over the open sea, but moves according to the seasons and other circumstances within a single island or between two neighbouring islands. It is a bird peculiar to the archipelagos of the Macaronesian Sea, that is, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, and from it derives the highly prized canário de fora (domestic canary); it is not recorded, however, that it has been observed on the Savage Islands (Selvagens). The clutch consists of 3 to 5 eggs, speckled with more or less dark violet on a greenish-blue ground. It is easily tamed, and it is on some islets or uninhabited islands of the archipelago that the forms most remarkable for the brilliant yellow of their plumage are found.
In this article
Place
Places mentioned · 03
Abroad
- Azores
Portugal. Part of the bird's native range.
The Azores, an Atlantic archipelago that shares plant species with Madeira. The Elucidário records settlement there by Madeiran families such as the Bettencourts, the 1801 ban on Azorean wines in Madeira, and imports of Azorean tobacco. It also notes that Azorean farmers were brought to Madeira to teach maize-growing methods.
- Canary Islands
Spain. Part of the bird's native range.
The Canary Islands are the archipelago neighbouring Madeira, with disputed accounts of their discovery. Tradition holds that their Béthencourt king sold them to Prince Henry in exchange for lands in Madeira. The Elucidário notes many contacts between the two archipelagos, including scientific visits, the Orfeão Madeirense's tour in May 1922 and the massacre of forty Jesuits in their waters.
- Savage Islands
Funchal · Selvagens. Where the bird has not been recorded.
A small uninhabited island group, politically part of the Madeira archipelago. The Elucidário covers its geography, geology, fauna, ownership history and legends of hidden treasure, including Shackleton's treasure plans, and notes the annual hunting of shearwaters and rabbits. It is the only remaining home of the limpet Patella vulgata and was studied by naturalists such as Lowe and Garreta.