In my long life I have seldom thought about the Canary Islands, but when I did, I thought they were:

1. atwitter with little yellow birds, and
2. somewhere out there.

Turns out they are 54 miles off the coast of North Africa, and they are Spanish. They are named after the Canarii tribe of settlers, also from North Africa. The little birds are named after the islands, but they must have all emigrated to pet shops elsewhere.

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