Canaries (Complete Pet Owners Manuals)

CANARIES by Otto von Frisch, and translated by Matthew Vriends includes many wonderful photographs of canaries in various stages of development, eating and playing and flying. The material in this book is not very different from the CANARY HANDBOOK written by Vriends and also published by Barron's, but the additional photos are nice, and the "Dangers for Your Canary' are important for new bird owners. This list includes dangers for `free-flying" canaries, which von Frisch seems to encourage (free-flying that is, not dangers).

Von Frisch includes helpful hints about what to do if your free-flying canary shows no inclination to return to his cage after you let him out, as well as how to create "favorite spots" for the birds outside the cage for the bird to use. In "Life with a Canary" von Frisch discusses diet. He suggests storing bird seed in the refrigerator in tight fitting containers. The cool dry air keeps the seed from spoiling, however, if you are like me with 11 birds, you may not have room for much of anything else. His list of things to add to the bird's menu includes old favorites such as spray millet and home-cooked treats.

The photos in this book are amazing with many action shots. In a section entitled "Understanding Behavior", von Frisch includes 8 photos with text showing various examples of bird behavior including bath taking and beak cleaning. CANARIES is a nice little "how-to" book filled with information for the new canary owner.