Today is Canary Islands Day. Which commemorates the first session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands. 10 things you might not know about Canaries, the birds named for the islands:
The scientific name for a canary is Serinus canaria domestica.
There are more than 200 different breeds of canary, and not all of them are Yellow. Some are Red, Orange, Pink or Brown.
It's mostly the males which sing. They sing to attract a mate, so if you have a male canary and put it with a female, it won't sing so much because it has what it wants.
Famous canaries include Tweetie Pie ("I thought I saw a puddy tat") Big Bird in Sesame Street and Chuck in Angry Birds.
Canaries were first bred in captivity in the 17th century, having been brought to Europe by Spanish sailors. Canaries were fashionable in courts of Spanish and English kings. Monks bred them and only sold the males (because they are the ones which sing). This kept the birds in short supply and drove the price up.
From the 18th up to the 20th centuries, canaries were used in the UK, Canada and the US in the coal mining industry to detect carbon monoxide. Hence the expression, "canary in a coalmine" for an early warning about something. In the UK, this practice ceased in 1986.
If a criminal is described as a canary, it means they "sang" to the police.
Norwich City, an English football team, is nicknamed "the Canaries" as the city was once a centre for breeding and export of the birds.
Canaries have been used to study neurogenesis, or the birth of new neurons in the brain, and also into how songbirds learn to sing.
Wild canaries are mostly yellow-green, with brownish streaking on the back. The solid yellow colour of the pet canary is a result of selective breeding.
Character birthday
Eternal Flame
The Freedom League's numbers have dwindled to three - but leader Unicorn knows his team isn't finished yet. The turning point comes with Russell, a boy with bright red hair and a genetic variant ability to start fires. He's the first of an influx of new members who will take the League into the future.
Judith and Wil are child prodigies - Judith in physics and electronics, and Wil in medicine. They have another thing in common - they are both genetic variants. And another thing - they both have fiery red hair. They are drawn to one another as their destinies intertwine, but the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly!
Richard is not a variant. He's an Olympic athlete who has picked up useful knowledge from his unusual friends to add to his own natural abilities. A chance encounter with a dying alien throws him into a Freedom League mission in which his skills are put to the ultimate test, along with theirs.
The Freedom League's arch-enemy, the super-villain Obsidian, wants his family fortune all to himself. One person stands in his way - his niece, Fiona. Fiona, devastated by a family tragedy and her failure to get in to her first choice university, is miserable and has few friends. When she realises her brother's death was no accident, and his killer is also after her, she fears it may be too late to gather allies around her and learn how to use her own genetic variant powers.
Judith and Wil are child prodigies - Judith in physics and electronics, and Wil in medicine. They have another thing in common - they are both genetic variants. And another thing - they both have fiery red hair. They are drawn to one another as their destinies intertwine, but the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly!
Richard is not a variant. He's an Olympic athlete who has picked up useful knowledge from his unusual friends to add to his own natural abilities. A chance encounter with a dying alien throws him into a Freedom League mission in which his skills are put to the ultimate test, along with theirs.
The Freedom League's arch-enemy, the super-villain Obsidian, wants his family fortune all to himself. One person stands in his way - his niece, Fiona. Fiona, devastated by a family tragedy and her failure to get in to her first choice university, is miserable and has few friends. When she realises her brother's death was no accident, and his killer is also after her, she fears it may be too late to gather allies around her and learn how to use her own genetic variant powers.
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Obsidian's Ark
Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.
Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.
Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?
When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?
Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.
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