Serinus serinus comes from the Canary Islands. They feed
primarily on grass seeds, grains and some fruit and insects.
Which came first, the canary or the island? The Canary Islands
were named long before the Spanish conquered the islands in 1496
and brought some of the native birds back with them to Europe.
Interestingly, the word "canary" is a derivative of the Latin
word "canis," as in "dog." The Romans were said to have given
the islands their name (Canaria Insula) because the islands'
native inhabitants bred a type of dog. The Canary Islands, which
are comprised of seven islands (the nearest being 67 miles off
the northwest of the African mainland), were, according to the
Encyclopedia Britannica, visited by the Arabs as early as 999
for trading purposes. During the 13th and 14th centuries,
Genoese, Majorcan, Portuguese and French navigators made their
way to the islands. And since the late 1400s, Spain has ruled
the subtropical Canary Islands, which also became a stopping
ground for the up-and-coming Chri