Canary Feather Types

There are 3 basic feather types known today in domesticated canaries;

Intensive, Non-Intensive (Frost) and Mosaic (L to R in Photo)

Below is a short essay by G. Walker regarding feather types.

Three Basic Feather Patterns from Coloured, Type & Song Canaries

by G.B.R. Walker & Dennis Avon


Basic Feather Patterns

Canaries have three basic feather patterns as shown in the above diagram by Walker and Avon. The top feather is wider and has no coloring on the tip. This feather type has many names depending on the kind of canary. In Stafford canaries and colorbred it is called frost, but in type canaries the same kind of feathering is called buff.

The next diagram pattern in the middle is colored to the very tip. In Stafford canaries it is called non-frost, while in colorbred it is called intensive. In type varieties, it is called yellow (feather pattern) and is not related to the bird's feather (ground) color.

The bottom diagram pattern shown by Walker & Avon is mosaic feather type. It has a much larger area without color. Mosaic canaries are shown in both Stafford and Colorbred (lipochrome and melanin) divisions.

The definitions appear straight forward but within the feather types there is considerable variation. Notice the difference in Gator Heat, who appears to have long non-frost feathering to Sooner who has short non-frost feathering.

From Red Barn Wings Newsletter 12/12

It’s hard to talk about color without also discussing the 3 feather types which although are not distinct colors, do in fact alter what we think we see!!!!  As with base colors, all canaries are 1 of the 3 feather types . The 3 feather types are Intensive, Frost (non-intensive)  and Mosaic. Frost is self descriptive.  Each feather on the frost example is tipped with white giving the bird an appearance of being drowned in confectionary sugar. An intensive bird does not have this white tip. Lastly a mosaic is unique in that it has a much wider white tipping on certain areas of the body and NOT on others… that is why it has a red mask and red shoulders and not a red body!  (Note; male mosaics show more red color than females, as it is a dimorphic factor)