Serinus canaria domestica

a.k.a. the domestic canary

My little fellow is a mottled marshmallow-yellow with orange streaks on his breast, face, and wings. His legs are spindly and scaly. He has beady eyes like ink droplets. He sharpens his beak on the perch as if it were a whetstone. He mostly darts around, chirring and trilling. Occasionally he will pause to eat millet or pluck buds from a sprig of broccoli.

He's a tiny maestro. Here are some of the sounds I've heard thus far:

Click - in the morning when I rouse him, he will clap his beak together.

Squeak - a short plaintive call with an upward inflection.

Chitter - highly reminiscent of a cricket chirp. Varies from a soft whisper to a harsher shrill. This is his most common vocalization.

Tweedle-dee-dee - a little hiccuping cheep. Generally several notes strung together. He seems to do this under his breath when he's frightened.

Song - Every now and then, he will break into full song. He starts with a low whirring which escalates into a high laser-zap ping. Like a synthesizer. After singing, he looks so proud of himself.

Right now, he's flexing, fluffing, and acrobatically preening his wings. 5pm, the doldrums.

why a bird?

To add some spice and vocal flavor, but also for symbiotic reasons. Humans have been living with canaries for half a millennium! Their feathers are saturated with our pettiness, our vanity, our history, but these little birds also symbolize our deep-seated affinity for beauty. Through cohabitation, I hope to nurture and preserve this wondrous singing spark. Let's live beautifully together.