Canaries of Color - Les canaris de couleur

Colored Canaris Evolution

Canaries of color also sing but the selection was not done on the quality of their voice but on the color of their plumage and the quality of this last. One passed thus from a plumage green-gray and brown to more than 500 different colours for the canary.

Dilution of melanin in colored canaries

Black pigments: the melanin by genetic crossings disappeared little by little and left room to mixed canaries. None succeeded in making disappear to tality from this melanin what gave us completely yellow canaries (the yellow canaries unable to synthesize the melanin e are called ‘ lipochroms’ by the breeders). The only pigments colouring the yellow or red canary are the carotenoids, in the absence of these pigments the canary becomes white. The canary of color is in general of the Saxon race .

Dilution of melanin in colored canaries

Many stockbreeders try to make hybrids by crossing the canaries with connected races, in order to obtain new colours: but considerable the latter are sterile. Thus one can cross males goldfinch with females canaries owing to the fact that this last is closely related to the species..

Genetics of the canaries of color :

Recessive inheritance in colored canaries

It is by genes that the canary transmits the colors to its descent. There are three types of transmission in the canary:

Recessive transmission: who takes effect starting from the 2nd generation. For example, the crossing between a Yellow canary and a White will give 100% of yellows carrying white into 1 era generation and 25% of white, 25% of normal yellows and 50% of yellow carrying white in second generation.

Dominant inheritance in colored canary

Dominant transmission : one calls dominant the color of a bird, which associated with another color gives this same color.

Sex-related transmission in colored canary

Transmission related to the sex : in the genetics in fact normally the females receive the chromosome of color of the father for example for the Satiny factor, a male could carrying Satiny but it will never have the red eyes like the females. For example : a male canary yellow ivory coupled with a yellow female will give birds ivory which will be inevitably females and all the other yellows or carrying ivory will be males.

The melanics pigments which are also two: the brown phaeo melanin and the black eumelanin, are produced thanks to the presence of tyrosinase (allows the oxidation of the various basic substrates).

Difference of pygments

The pigments of color for the canary are of two types :

Lipochroms pigments which are thus named because they are soluble in greases (lipids). The lute in appropriation allows the appearance of various carotenoids of which two are essential with the colouring of the canaries : the yellow xanthophile and the red canthaxantine (transmitted by the tarin of Venezuela).

Lipochroms Factors :

*Denomination*	Significance	*Description*
J+	Wild factor of the yellow	Constant colo r: yellow jonquil. The factor J is a little less supported and clears up the yellow.
R+	Factor of the red	Brought by the tarin of Venezuela. According to the crossings, one obtains colors active of the red to the orange yellow while passing by the orange intensive.
Sc	Transferred factor relating to carotenoids	Give a cream-coloured color in the yellow canaries and a pink color at the reds.
m+	Mosaic factor	Inherited by the tarin of Venezuela, it prevents the appearance of the lipochroms pigments on certain parts of the body of the bird,which is very pleasant with the eyes.
RC	Factor of reduction of carotenoids	Prevent the appearance of the yellows pigments or red ones, it results from a white color called ” white dominating “.

Lipochromes

Among the lipochroms, we note the presence:

Yellow lipochrome

Of Yellow lipochrom: this color comes from the first transfer of the wild canary, characterized by complete disappearances of the melanins of the plumage. The eyes of this last are of black color, its nozzle and its legs of clear color, whereas under plumage is of white color.

The ivory canary

Ivory canary : appeared in the Sixties in Europe, it is the only factor of dilution of the plumage at the lipochrom. One can compare his color with a ball of natural ivory billiards which yellows with the passing of years. Like the yellow lipochrom it has the eyes of black color, the legs and the nozzle lights and under white plumage.

The red canary schimmel

The orange-red : appeared towards the end of the XIXth century in Germany, it results from the crossing between the yellow canary and the cardinal of Venezuela (or tarin of Venezuela). Thus his plumage is equipped with at the same time yellow and red feathers. In period of moult it is essential to add in its food daily of carotenoïdes (in carrots, certain fruits and in the colouring mash one that one finds in the trade), this will give again for the year to come all splendour from the color of this canary which is the variety more widespread after the yellow canary.

The ivory red canary

Pink ivory canary : appeared in the Sixties inEurope, its characteristics are similar to those of the canary ivory. It comes from the crossing ivory by red orange. Its eyes are black and its legs and its nozzle of clear color, whereas its under plumage is white.

The dominant and recessive white canary

White dominating and of the white : appeared in Germany at the end of the XVIIth century, the characteristics of the two birds presenting of great similarities, they are nearly identical. The white presents to him nuances of yellow or orange on the level of the feathers whereas the white dominating is deprived by it. They are judged at the time of the contest according to the purity of their plumage, their size (12-13 cms) and of their cleanliness.

There is of course other lipochroms but here I quoted only the principal ones.

Melanics factors :

*Denomination*	*Signification*	*Description*
n+	Factor of black eumelanin	Appears mainly on the feathers and the long feathers and in the form of scratches on the back and the sides. It transforms the yellow into green, the white in blue and the red in bronze.
rb	Factor of reduction in the brown one	Sensitive on the prime coat and gives an intermediate color between yellow and green, bronze and red and in the absence of lipochroms a gray color between white and blue.
rn	Factor of the pastel	Reduced the black and involves an attenuation of the scratches and all the color of the bird. As the two preceding factors this factor is related to the sex of the bird.
so	Factor of opal	Have for result to attenuate the brown one and in addition to modify the black pigment by giving a splendid blue reflection.
ino	Factor ino	Involve a disappearance of the eumelanin and a transformation of the phaeomelanin, on the feathers and the long feathers and the back in the form of scales.
s	Factor Satiny	Also leads to a disappearance of the eumelanin and phaeomelanin, which were distributed on the totality of the body and which is from now on in form diluted on the feathers and long feathers and on the back where it forms broad scratches.

Melanistic colored canaries

Among the melanics ones we note the presence :

The black-brown canary

Brown-black canary : appeared towards the end of XIXth in Germany, it is equipped with black drawings on bottom of varied hues. Its plumage is pigmented by melanins, phaemelanins or eumelanins, melanins at their stage of maximum oxidation. This pigmantation forms black and brown drawings on the back, the sides, the shoulders, the wings and the tail. Its eyes, its nozzle and its legs must be of black color, i.e.be oxidized more possible. Its under plumage is of color dark gray.

The brown canary

Brown Canay : appeared at the same time as the brown black, the black melanins were diluted and left their great place to the brown ones. The plumage obtained is of a color brown uniform heat with marked drawings of color brown dark. The legs and the nozzle are not oxidized, they are then clear color and its under plumage is of gray color.

Agate canaries

Agate canary : appeared a little later at the beginning of XXth century in Europe, it results from a transfer related on the sex generating the first factor of dilution, to the light reducing effects on the melanins black and very marked on the brown ones. This dilution gives rise to a beautiful color gray-lead with bluish reflection smaking think of agate. Its eyes are of gray color and its nozzle and its legs are of clear color.

IsabellIe canaries

Isabelle canaries : appeared towards the end of XIXth century, its plumage is color of the coat of the queen bearing the same name. Its plumage is in fact that of brown, but here it is diluted: it thus has only very diluted brown melanins. Its eyes are of color clear brown and its nozzle and its legs of clear color, whereas its under plumage is of clear gray color.

Other melanistic canaries

Like the lipochromes, there exists obviously of different melanics but I had quoted that the principal ones, those which one sees more in the breeders. one thus also finds : the pastel, the opal, satiny…

Various colours of canaries :

The green canary (black-yellow):

The canary bronzes (black-red):

The agate canary :

The silver plated canary :

The red canary :

The yellow canary :

The canary ivory rosy :

The phaeo canary :

There is obviously enormously more colour, but their great number (nearly 500) does not make it possible all to show them to you on the site. If you want photographs of canaries of other colors, contact me on my E-mail address which is on the page of Greeting like on the page dedicated to the photographs.