A bird of the finch family (Fringillidae), native to the Macaronesian Islands (off West Africa), 12.5–13.5 cm long with a wingspan of 8–9 cm. It has been domesticated since the seventeenth century and kept as pets for the song of its males (females do not sing). Canaries were also carried into mines, where the cessation of the song would indicate the bird had been poisoned by a gas leak. Traditionally the domestic canary was bright yellow, but varieties of many other colours have been bred.