I have a new friend on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He lives in the Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine on Columbus Avenue and 88th street and he’s a gorgeous yellow canary.

Every day I pass by the window and look for him up in the display, waving ‘hi’ as I get on with my day. He’s a beautiful bright yellow color with splashes of neon green and he makes me smile every time I see him. I’d like to think I can hear his beautiful song but it’s hardly possible through the plexiglass window, also there’re other birds in the cage with him. His name is Petey. 

Canaries are finches native to the Canary Islands off the coast of northwestern Africa. That’s where they got their name, which is ironic since Canary in Latin translates to Island of Dogs, since they had a large native dog population. It’s also the root of the word “canine”. The birds were brought to Europe and Asia and later to North America due to their bright, beautiful feathers and their melodious, high-pitched song. 

The largest and most well-known Canary island is Tenerife, it’s a popular vacation spot. Known for its gorgeous beaches, Spanish colonial architecture, turquoise waters and white sands, this could very well be the most beautiful place on the planet. Perhaps that’s where the beautiful melodies originate, canaries’ roots in this magical place endowed the bird with magical power to sound like an angel. 

Click here to read more about the Canary Islands.

Birds became a staple of decor for the well-to do the world over. Anyone who was anyone had birds in their mansion/castle/palace. Peacocks were favored for their gorgeous feathers, canaries for their brightness and song. They were part of the design of royal residences, where their cages were made out of gold, it was as commonplace as fire places or carpets. In any depiction of a palace, a royal or aristocratic residence, be it in China, India, or Europe, there’re always birds in cages. In this work of art by Spanish court painter, Francisco Goya, a young duke is depicted holding a magpie bird on a string with a cage full of little birds at his feet. The magpie on the string is holding the painter’s name card in its beak, there’re three cats staring at it, ready to pounce, signifying forces of darkness and injustice. The bird cage on the floor is elaborate and decorative, signifying beauty and innocence:

Canaries were preferred for many reasons, including ease of transportation and brightness of their feathers, they are only about 4-5 inches long, can survive long journeys, pretty unpicky eaters and their feathers were too small to be used in millinery that made countless of bird species completely extinct or endangered. We love those gorgeous hats of the gilded age that got bigger and fuller with draped fabrics and exotic feathers, it became a fashion staple to have hats custom made to the outfit and to the occasion. In this picture of the NY Easter Parade in 1911, every lady is wearing a large hat with huge plumes:

But the truth is the birds were killed by the thousands to create these beautiful garments and it decimated their populations. There’s been a recent push in the fashion and art world to admire those works of art for those hats were, indeed, works of art, while understanding the damage it wreaked on our natural world and learning the lessons for the future of how to create fashion without harming our planet. 

Click here to read more about Crimes of Fashion: Gilded Age Millinery and the Plight of Birds

Back to my buddy Petey. I love him so much, I’d like to think he’s happy even though he’s in a cage but its a large space with branches and steps for him to jump and room to fly around. He also has his friends there and they seem playful. He goes down to the water bath and rolls around in the water with his wings up, fluffing out his chest, becoming 5 times bigger. What a little jokester. His beauty and song bring happiness to all that see him but he also reminds me of a pet canary I had as a little girl, who was also a gorgeous bright yellow and loved to sing high-pitched, happy tunes. Doing research for this post, I came to find out you can actually train canaries to sing different tunes and melodies but when I had Muffin, I had no idea. He just sang and sang to his heart content and his song was so mellifluous and soft, it never got annoying and never bothered anyone. In fact, most people completely forgot he was even in the room, like a pleasant scent, his songs added ambiance without grinding on our nerves.

That’s why I never understood the idiom “Sing like a canary.” It has this negative connotation, means for someone to tell law enforcement about illegal activities. It’s pretty much the song of the snitch. It paints this beautiful creature in a bad light and quite undeservingly. Its song is melodious, beautiful and varied. It’s the main reason canaries became the favorite pet birds and started to be bred as pets, meaning the birds we see today were not caught in the wild but are descendants of pet canaries, much like our house cats and dogs. So why is it that every crime thriller has a tough cop saying he’s going to make the bad guy sing like a canary. I’d say if he sang like a canary, he’d make everyone happy and everyone would be laughing with joy.

Another canary that springs to mind was popularized by an amazing novel called “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. It’s an epic journey from boyhood to adulthood, from NYC to Vegas, to Netherlands and back and at the heart of this story is a painting of a canary. The painting, like the book, is called “The Goldfinch” created by a young Dutch painted Carel Pietersz Fabritius in 1654. It has a simple, cream background, so we don’t know if the bird is in a palace or a more ordinary residence but the bird itself is executed with beautiful detail. Another poignant feature is the chain that restrains the bird’s leg, it’s tied to its feeder so it can not fly, it’s not free. If there’s anything worse than being caged, it’s probably being chained. And despite the chain, it seems to sit and look straight at the viewer, defiantly, turning its head to look directly at us.

I’ve only seen this painting online but it’s on my bucket list to see it in person, as I’m sure the live version has colors and details that can’t be captured on the computer screen. It’s on display at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, Netherlands. Painted during the Northern Renaissance by a young Fabritius, it’s masterful in its execution and restraint. Fabritius was a student of Rembrandt, experimenting with light and illusion, he was killed in the Delf powder explosion when he was only 32. Most of his work has been destroyed but this tiny painting, naturalistic and modest, just captures the imagination.

As the author of “What is Art” blog aptly borrows from Donna Tartt’s novel: “Isn’t the point of things – beautiful things – that they connect you to some larger beauty”.

Carel Fabritius: The Goldfinch

Throughout the upheavals, challenges and struggles of the main character’s journey in “The Goldfinch,” this small painting of a single bird keeps him grounded and inspired. It’s the lighthouse on the rough seas of his life that is shining a bright light through the storms so he can find his way back to shore.

This is why art, which is everywhere and in everyone, is the most important creation of humanity. It’s what keeps us going despite the struggles, what makes our world more beautiful and our lives richer. It’s what connects us to each other, keeps us grounded and serves as proof that no matter how bad things get, there’s always beauty in the world.

Feature image credit: https://www.craiyon.com/image/LMQok6iOT3eEOYH2QF6oBQ