Heres and odd one.
I have just been booked to fly to Toronto, Canada in November to judge a Roller Canary Singing Contest. Birds will be brought from as far afield as British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan and maybe from the USA to sing for me. Over a period of two days I will listen to 35 teams of four birds. each team given 30 minutes to produce their song. The teams of four will be placed in front of me - about 5ft away (pretty daunting for birds which are still immature) and I shall listen to all four at once but pick out the various song passages from the individuals.
This is, one could say, a fairly esoteric occupation - there are very few breeders now - less than 100 in the UK and probably half that number in Canada. The stronghold is Europe, particularly Germany, Holland, Belgium France and Italy. The birds used to be called Hartz Mountain Rollers. The song is about 60% learned and 40% inherited. Young birds in their first year learn their song from a Schoolmaster and are kept isolated from other birds in case they learn bum notes. As an example - a novice kept his young birds with some goldfinches and they all learned goldfinch song which rendered them totally useless for competition.
The song: The song is split into 12 parts called tours. Each tour is named and has a value in points. The song is sung entirely random so you have to listen carefully as some parts may only last a second or two. Generally even the very best birds only sing 9 or 10 tours. Two are almost extinct. These canaries, mostly yellow or green are quite tiny and very delicate. Their song is soft and mellow. Any loud, sharp or hard notes are faults. They used to be called "The Parlour NIghtingale" but the nightingale has sharp and harsh notes which Roller breeders wince at.
This strange but gentle occupation has been carried out in England since the time of Elizabeth the 1st - earlier on the continent. I predict it will disappear from the UK in 30 years or less.
As I shall be listening to up to 140 birds (some will be to nervous to sing) and I can be sure to hear them in my head on the flight back to the UK.
I believe this will be the first time a British judge has been asked to officiate in North America or Canada and I am quite excited about it.
Sadly, I have to return home the day after the contest, for I have family in Alberta - my daughter lives in Edmonton - for I cannot leave my own stock for too long. Livestock keepers take few holidays and when we do something always dies.
Topic: Canary Song (Read 2902 times)
