The trials and tribulations of living with a randy songbird

For those of you who do not know, Jose and I have an ORANGE canary named Skittles. Before receiving him as a gift two years ago, the only thing related to canaries I knew about was Tweety Bird.



Here is the most important thing to know about canaries (at least the males), they sing. A LOT. Skittles is almost constantly looking for a ladybird friend. He sings his little heart out as soon as the sun comes out and keeps going pretty much all day. A canary's song is actually quite pretty. I am providing a link to a youtube video of a typical canary. Apparently  there are singing contests for these birds and Jose claims Skittles would give them a run for their money. I am inclined to agree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es5p9yrMHTM&feature=fvwrel

So we have established that Skittles is a skilled singer. He has different registers, different sounds, he whistles, warbles and tweets. He preens and fluffs. He is one randy bird who works it to the best of his ability. Alas, he is stuck in a cage on our terrace, forced to sing for the sparrows who come to eat the seeds he tosses to the ground. Not that Skittles doesn't live a sweet life. The bird has it good, minus a mate.

My one complaint about having a canary is that they have no respect for hangovers, sleeping in on weekends, or siestas (in this way they are like babies). They sing all day, every day with no regard for anyone else. Skittles is selfish. He is hellbent on getting laid and will not let anything stop him, especially not the fact that his cage sits directly outside our bedroom window. Jerk.

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