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written by Marie Miley-Russell
copyright 2007,
all rights reserved by author
Published in the
national American Singers Club, Inc. newsletter July, 2007
Of all of the breeds of canaries exhibited in the United States, only a
very few are truly American. Of the few American breeds, only one- the
American Singer- is bred for song.
Like the country in which the breed was developed, the breed was founded
upon a revolutionary ideal- to breed a bird which was prized for the
freedom, variety, and melodiousness of its song and also for the
attractiveness of its appearance and the liveliness of its personality. The background of the American Singer is
approximately 2/3 German Roller canary and 1/3 Border canary- both of these
birds were the leading breeds of their kinds- canaries bred for song and
canaries bred for type (or appearance) - in Europe at the time the concept
of an American Singer canary was developed by a handful of women in Boston,
Massachusetts.
Over seventy years since the founding of the breed, it is impossible to
state with certainty who exactly the Founding Mothers of our breed were and
what they were like. Tradition states that they were housewives but as most
women of the day were housewives, that tells us very little about them.
Certainly they were possessed of revolutionary ideals about canaries
and unafraid of the challenge of creating from scratch a new breed. They
were also dedicated to the goals they established for the breed and patient
in their pursuit of quality Singers as the soonest any of them would have
had true American Singers by following the plan they outlined was five
years. (And, as any breeder of a unique strain knows, many new strains are
dead-ends which result in birds which do not sing quality song.)
Very early on most American Singer fanciers were aware that birds would
be sold under the American Singer name that had no genes at all in common
with birds of the breed. As early as July of 1941, a Mr. L. Armitage wrote in
American Canary Magazine that "as can be expected many birds will be sold as
the real article, notwithstanding the sorry fact that they are not even of
the stated blood union...the good name of American Singer will be smirched
through this relationship. The only protection which breeders of American
Singers can utilize is through the medium of show awards. Such bench winners
will go on record by the organization. Thus the owners of American Singers
will to a large extent protect the reputation of their goods."
One of the first promoters of the American Singer breed to appear in
print was a Mr. Armistead Carter. This gentleman was referred to as a
"respected old-timer" in American Canary Magazine and was apparently well
know in East Coast U.S. canariculture circles at the time. It is interesting
to note that in September of 1941 he remarked in American Canary Magazine
that American Singers should strive as a fancy to effectively take over the
pet canary market as the Roller, Hartz Mountain, and Choppers had done
before. What I believe Mr. Carter was saying is that the American Singer
canary should become a household name and ultimately when one thought
of a canary it should be an American Singer canary one had in mind. The
Singer should also possess the best qualities of canaries shown for their
looks- the general idea being that the bird's physical attractiveness would
be the initial "hook" that catches a potential buyer and the outstanding
song then be the thing that "sets the hook".
Further reading reveals other interesting thoughts on the part of some of
the earliest fanciers of the breed. Mr. L. Armitage, who was referred to
earlier in this article, reappears in the March 1942 issue of American
Canary Magazine to discuss the progress being made on the development of a
model for the American Singer canary. A few items he refers to is the
reasoning behind the rejection of certain breeds of type canary such as the
Yorkshire in the development of the Singer- the concern was that the
Yorkshire was tightened in the throat and breast area which would interfere
with the ability of the bird to produce the vibrations necessary for song
rendition. What was decided was that the "large sized modern Border canary
has the required room for song rendition and together with the excellent
appearance of this type we find that there is no objectionable reason for
accepting it as our model except for some necessary changes to allow for
inherited characteristic roller infusion."
Apparently the founders of the breed made efforts to study both voice and
song to better understand the song of their birds, how to identify
quality song, and how to produce birds able to sing this quality song.
In researching the thoughts and methods behind the development of the
American Singer canary I was impressed with the amount of thought and
careful decision making which went into the process. There was a
REASON they selected a larger Border- they sought the big Border's deep
chest in the belief that it would allow for better song production. Modern
American Singer breeders would do well to carefully consider such issues as
they debate the future of the breed.
These pioneering individuals also faced a not inconsiderable amount of
criticism from their peers for concentrating their efforts on creating a
"mongrel canary". One breeder attacked a writer discussing American Singers
by saying that American Singer "fanciers" would end up simply producing more
98 cent birds for sale in the pet shops and not exhibition quality
specimens!
More than 70 years later American Singer fanciers still hear similar
comments from breeders of other kinds of canaries. Some of these breeders
are fanciers of other breeds of song canaries and disparage the American
Singer Breeding Plan and lack of a song standard. A certain amount of
snobbery plays into much of this sort of commentary- many of these fanciers
seem to believe that generations of "pure" lineage and standardized
performance impart greater worth. As most Americans are themselves the
result of the blending of diverse genetic backgrounds and two central
American cultural values are creativity and innovation, this argument seems
somewhat peculiar coming from Americans.
The American Singer canary of today is the closest it has ever been to
achieving the monopolization of the pet canary market that Mr. Carter
envisioned in 1941. The breed is certainly one of the most popular- if not
the most- canaries in the United States today. Our primary task as American
Singer fanciers is to continue to address the dual challenges of improving
and promoting the breed so that the vision of the original founders can be
achieved and surpassed in the near future.
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For more information about American Singer canaries
written by this author, visit
www.americansingercanary.com
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