Border Fancy Canary
Birds in Focus...
The Border Fancy Canary is the most popular bird in shows today. As a "type canary", it is bred for physical appearance rather than for song. Once nicknamed the "Wee Gem", this pretty little bird is small, compact, and hardy. It has a round body with very glossy plumage. Though most often seen in yellow, it is also found in a variety of other colors.
A wonderful cage bird, the Border Fancy Canary is very lively. It has a pleasant character and sings a variety of robust songs. Sometimes it is confused with the Gloster Fancy Canary but can be distinguished by it's more intense "chopper" type song than that of the Gloster.
There is very little known about the background of the Border Fancy Canary other than it is said to have evolved in the late 1700's or early 1800's from the 'common' canary along the borders of northern England and Scotland. The name and standards for the Border Canary were adopted in 1889 at Langholm in 1889, a town close to the border of Scotland and England, and it was officially named with establishment of the Border Fancy Canary Club on June 5, 1890.
The Border Fancy Canary is a nice round, well built bird. The original Border Canary was once called the "Wee Gem" with a size of about 4 1/2 inches, today it is no longer so small and this name has gone by the wayside. The ideal Border Fancy Canary today will be about about 5 1/2 inches (14 cm) long.
Their usual color is yellow, but they can also be found in white, yellow, buff, green, cinnamon, and may also be variegated or ticked. For showing, any that have red ground tendencies will be disqualified.
For showing, the Border Fancy Canary requires more training than some of the other canaries, such as the Gloster Fancy Canary. This is because they are a bird of action and need to move from perch to perch, being judged on how well they land.
Border Fancy Canaries are free breeding and are similar to breeding other canaries.
Border Fancy Canaries are readily available and are fairly inexpensive. Sometimes available at pet stores, but more readily they can be found through bird shows, bird clubs, breeders, and on the internet.
Authors: Clarice Brough, CAS and Denise Taormina
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/canaries/BorderCanary.php