Many people keep finches, which actually include the group of canaries, as pets. These birds do usually not become as tame as parrots, but nevertheless may trust their keeper enough to land on his or her hand. Generally, finches are great to watch and listen to, and many people keeping finches sooner or later find themselves breeding those little birds, too. If properly housed, fed and otherwise taken care of, finches can live for many years in captivity.
This category contains links to sites of finch keepers and breeders who share their experiences by maintaining a website, and a variety of people and institutions which make their information about finches available, be it photos, songs, or detailed descriptions of a species.
Please submit only general sites for and about canaries, their management, breeding, showing, etc.
Domestic Canaries are descendants of the wild canaries brought to Europe from the Canary Islands in the 16th Century. Originally, these wild birds were caught for and kept by royalty as songbirds in cages. Through selective breeding many distinct canary breeds have been developed. Canaries are often kept as pets, but specialist show-varieties have been developed by dedicated breeders. Modern varieties are extremely diverse and are bred for: color, form and song.
Song Canaries include: Spanish Timbrado, German Roller, Belgian Waterslager, American Singer, and more.
Type Canaries include: Norwich, Border, Fife, Lizard, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Gloster, and more.
Colored Canaries include: Lipochrome and Melanin in Yellow Ground, White Ground and Red Factor; Dimorphics, more.
Please submit only general sites for and about canaries, their management, breeding, showing, etc.
Gouldian finches are native to Australia and are becoming rarer in their natural habitat.
captive bred Gouldian finches are to be found in many different colours and are considered to be far more colorful than those in the wild.
please only submit sites dealing with Gouldian finches as pets in this category. sites selling Gouldian finch related products should be listed under Shopping.
Zebra Finches originate from Australia. Zebras live in open grasslands with some bushes and trees. They live in dry areas over most of Australia. They live in groups and eat mostly grass seeds. They build their nests in bushes out of grass, straw, feathers and anything else they can find. They lay 3-6 eggs and both parents participate in raising the young. The currently accepted taxonomic nomenclature for the Zebra is Taeniopygia guttata castanotis.
The normal male bird has a gray upper body and wings. The belly is white. The beak and legs are a red-orange color. On each side of the head is a cheek patch. There is a 'tear drop' mark under the eye. This is a brown/tan/fawn color commonly called orange. The flanks/sides of the bird just below the wings, is a chestnut (orange) colored area with white dots. The chest is black and white stripped like a zebra, hence the name zebra finch.
The female also has a gray upper body and wings with a white belly. The beak and legs are the same red-orange color but not as deep color, but lighter. She has a black 'tear drop' mark under the eye. The most noticeable differences between males and females are the cheek patches and the chest striping.