The Belgian Canary is a type bird and a ‘bird of position’ and is important in the history of canary breeding because it is, in part, the raw material from which the Yorkshire Canary was bred.
This canary was very popular from the early 1800s to the outbreak of First World War. The huge impact of this world war on Belgium triggered the decline of the breed, bringing it close to extinction in its homeland.
The original Belgian was a large bird – over 7 inches long – but the modern bird is in fact quiite small -hardly larger than a Roller canary.
The Belgium Canary remains one of the epicentres of canary culture with many thousands of fanciers.
