|> So my question is this: Were the Canary Islands named after a bird, or
|> after a dog? Gran Canaria is an island in the Canary Isles, and the word
|> canaria has to do with dogs. Are these islands significantly populated
|> with canaries?
|>
|> Lisa

The conventional wisdom is that the islands are named for the dogs that
were found there by the Romans.
The bird name Canary pertains to several species of the genus Serinus,
English name Serin, specifically Serinus canaria, or Island Canary, which
is endemic to Madeira, the Azores, and the Canary Islands - i.e., the
bird is named after the islands. As far as I know, the captive-bred cage
canaries originate from S.canaria.

Daan Sandee sandee at cmns.think.com
Mountain View, CA 94041