Meet Barry, an adorable Gloster canary with a groovy head of hair that looks like a perfectly done bowl cut. "I'm the birb with the fringe!" Barry says on his Instagram bio, where he has more than 2,000 followers now.

While Gloster canaries did originate from the Canary Islands, they are not seen in the wild. The birds are the result of decades-long selective breeding. There are two varieties of Gloster canaries: Consorts (smooth heads) and Coronas (crested heads, like Barry). The birds sporting cute "Beatles haircuts" are not as social with humans as, for example, parrots, and don't desire much human interaction. The Glosters are also known to be avid and talented singers, which, along with their full crest, has caused them to become very popular among bird lovers.

Gloster Canaries were bred to be small, short and stubbyy no longer than 4 3/4 inches, and come in many color variations including: green,yellow,cinnamon.

They are often confused with Crested Canaries. - although one noted difference is that crested canaries are larger than glosters and not as commonly available. Although some Gloster canaries do sport cute "Beatles Haircuts" also referred to as "crests," the "crested canary" was recognized as a separate breed in 1925.

Any crested Gloster is referred to as a Corona and those without crests (plainheads) are known as Consorts. Although a Type Canary (bred for their shape and conformation --and not bred for singing) --the Gloster is known to have a beautiful song. Their ability to sing and cute-looking crest has caused them to become very popular in aviculture and the pet trade.

The gene that causes the crested mutation is dominant, but a double dose is lethal. When one gene is inherited, the bird is crested. If two genes are inherited, then the bird's skull is deformed and the chick usually dies in shell. From the results below it can be seen that you will not get any more live crested chicks by breeding crested to crested, therefore this is not recommended (please refer to below). If you choose to breed your crested Gloster Canary, pair him or her up with a plain-headed Gloster Canary (Consort).

Canaries like wide open spaces so provide a roomy cage. Provide a cage with vertical bars and small perches of different size for foot exercise. Have at least 1 perch set high in the cage for the canary to roost (sleep). The cage should be placed high, so the canary can look down on us so to speak. Canaries eat mainly canary seed and rape seed. Vitamin coated canary seed mixes are readily available at a pet store. Greens are also enjoyed and can be offered daily along with a little calcium in the form of a cuttlebone. They do like to bath, so should be offered a bird bath. Cage cleaning and toe nail trimming is about all the maintenance canaries need.

Canaries do not require toys, mirrors or any other form of entertainment, a swing is all they need to keep themselves occupied. Most of the time, canaries are simply enjoyed for their beauty and singing. However, some canaries are allowed out of their cage to perch or are show canaries and therefore require taming or training.

Canaries breed easily and readily if provided with quality food, lighting, secure surroundings, and conditioning. They are best bred in breeding cages. Breeding the Gloster Canary is no different than breeding colorbreds or any other variety of canary... with one exception, Glosters should only be bred corona to consort (see description above). Other pairings could create a lethal factor and there have also been reports of bald headed birds and poor crests. They lay their eggs in a nest. The female will lay 3 to 6 eggs, one per day. Breeding season is usually from December to April; it is best to allow a hen to have only two clutches.

They are good-natured social creatures that do well when kept in cages or in aviaries. They are timid birds though and should not be housed with parakeets, lovebirds, or other hookbills that tend to be more aggressive birds by nature. Male canaries should be kept in a cage by themselves to ensure quality singing. Males can be territorial and pairing up with two male canaries in a cage can cause fights. In a spacious aviary canaries can generally be housed with other canaries, finches, and other hardbills. All image credit: instagram-barrybirb