Canary is an active and cheerful bird. It is known to be very social and can become a wonderful pet. Another fact about canary is that female canaries are called hens. Today, we are going to discuss whether female canaries sing or not.
Do female canaries sing?
Female canaries possess the ability to sing. But they do not sing as often as the male ones and their singing ability is also not so fluent and melodious. Even some species of female canaries are known to be complete non-singers. The female canaries are mostly seen breeding and hatching eggs.
Table of Contents
Let’s look at two species of female canaries and discuss if they can sing or not.
Female gloster canary:
Female gloster canaries are a small flock of birds. They grow up to not more than four inches. They are available in various colors.
The green female gloster canaries, the yellow female gloster canaries, and the cinnamon female gloster canaries are the most famous out of all the variations.
Female gloster canaries are known to possess singing voices. They have an inherent ability to sing.
But these species of birds are not bred with the intention of singing. But yet they can sing naturally because of their beautiful and melodic voice.
But one important thing here is that female gloster canaries do not sing as smoothly as the male ones. The male ones are much better singers than female gloster canaries.
So female gloster canaries can sing but they do not sing as often and as well as the male gloster canaries.
Female red factor canary:
Red factor canaries are famous for its red colored body. These species of canaries are not bred for singing. The red color of the red factor canaries can even change according to their diet.
Female red factor canaries are not known for their singing. In fact, the male red factors canaries are the singers. They sing to grab the attention of the female ones.
The female red factor canaries are better known for building nests. The male red factor canaries are the ones who sing to attract the attention of its owner and its partner.
So female red factor canaries are not seen singing and are mostly seen building nests and hatching eggs.
Why is my female canary singing?
The male canaries are usually the singers. But the female canaries can sometimes be seen singing too. Here are the reasons why your female canary might be singing:
Rising testosterone level:
The female canaries usually keep to themselves and are not known as singers. They sing very rarely. But when they sing, it usually has some reasons behind it. One of those reasons is the rising testosterone level.
A rise in the testosterone level inside the brain can make the female canaries sing.
This reason is based on some scientific research which shows that the testosterone level was key by releasing new neurones in the brain cell of the female canaries that made them sing.
New neurons can cause the female canaries to sing more often than usual.
After getting a new partner:
It is believed that only the male canaries sing after getting a new partner in a cage. But sometimes the female canaries are seen singing after a new partner enters the cage. They sing as a way to attract the new partner.
So your female canary starting to sing after you have brought a new male canary is no coincidence.
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF):
Just like humans, canaries also have a protein called BDNF inside their brain. An increase of BDNF protein can make the female canaries sing and can cause them to behave erratically.
How to make a female canary sing?
There are several methods and tricks that can be applied in order to make your female canaries sing. They are:
Song recordings:
First of all, you can play song recordings of other canaries singing in front of your female canary’s cage.
This will encourage your female canary to sing more often naturally. It is believed that the canaries living in the wild learn to sing by listening to the songs of other canaries.
Pair with a male canary:
The male canaries are known as the singers in the bird world. You can pair your female canary with a male one.
The male canary will sing in order to attract the female canary. This will also encourage your female canary to sing. The singing ability of female canaries is not so smooth as the male ones. But they still can sing a bit.
Sing in front of the cage:
You can sing in front of the cage of your female canary. By hearing you sing, your female canary might feel motivated and develop the urge to sing.
It is not guaranteed that it will start singing immediately. But as the days go by, someday it might start singing with you.
Maintain a healthy environment:
You need to make the living situation of your female canary comfortable for it to feel at home.
You can start by adding artificial light near to the cage in order to maintain the temperature. You can also feed your female canary healthy food nutrients.
You will also need to make sure that your female canary is not feeling bored and provide entertainment options for it in the form of toys. You must make sure that the temperature of the cage is good enough for your female canary.
The suitable temperature for a female canary is eighty degree Fahrenheit(F). If your female canary gets healthy foods and healthy environment, then it will start singing naturally.
Do male and female canaries both sing?
Male and female canaries both sings. But the important thing here is that male canaries are better known for their singing ability. The female canaries are mostly known for their breeding and hatching.
But the male canaries can sing very beautifully and have firm voices. The female canaries can sing in bits and pieces. Their singing does not have the same impact as the male canaries.
Do canaries sing all year round?
Canaries do not sing all year round. Canaries take time to get used to a new environment. I
f you have brought a new canary as pet, it might take time to start singing. The male canaries stop singing for a significant amount of time in the summer.
They stop singing at this point of the year because of molting season. They start losing their feathers and need to focus more on recovering these feathers instead of singing.
On the other hand, the female ones sing very rarely. The six months to thirty-six months old male canaries are most famous as singing birds. The male canaries are seen singing less in the winter too compared to other seasons.
What time of day do canaries sing?
There is not a specific timeframe for the singing of canaries. Canaries can sing whenever they feel like singing. So there is no exactly time inside the twenty four hour that can be identified as their singing time.
It means the natural phenomena of day and night does not have an effect on their singing abilities. So your canary can be seen singing at any time of the day besides their sleeping, eating and resting time.
Do male or female canaries sing more?
Male canaries are the natural singers. Female canaries do not sing that much. It might be confusing as you would expect the female canaries to sing more.
But in canary species, the male ones are the dominant singers and are seen singing more fluently and melodically than the female canaries.
The female canaries are also seen singing sometimes. But they do not sing on a regular basis. They are mainly focused on breeding and hatching eggs.
Which canary sings better male or female?
Without any shadow of a doubt, the male canaries are the better singers. If you are looking for a singing bird, it is better to buy a male canary because of its singing ability.
They have louder voices than the female canaries. Their singing is also much clearer than the female ones.
The female canaries are not consistent singers. It means they will sing very rarely or not sing at all.
But on the other hand, the male canaries are very adaptive and will start singing immediately after being caged. They can perfectly replicate and reproduce any song after hearing it.
Final thoughts
Female canaries are seen singing rarely. They have the ability to sing but do not sing on a regular basis. Their main concern is breeding and hatching eggs. The male canaries are the dominant singers and are known as the singing birds. The term “singing bird” does not suit the female canaries.