Mary Had a Pretty Bird Lyrics
Not the lamb this time but a little yellow bird. Mary's canary sings so sweetly that she sits by its cage just to listen.
Mary Had a Pretty Bird
Mary had a pretty bird,
Feathers bright and yellow,
Slender legs,upon my word,
He was a pretty fellow.
The sweetest notes he always sung,
Which much delighted Mary,
And near the cage she'd ever sit,
To hear her own canary.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/mary-had-a-pretty-bird/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
What Does Mary Had a Pretty Bird Mean?
Mary's pet is a canary, a small songbird with bright yellow feathers. The rhyme describes him, with his slender legs and his lovely singing, and Mary sitting near the cage to hear him. It is a calm, happy picture with no trouble in it at all.
History and Origin
Canaries come from the Canary Islands, and they were kept as pet songbirds in Europe from the 1600s. By the 1800s a singing canary in a cage was a common sight in homes, which is why it found its way into children's rhymes like this one from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes.
Learning Activities
- Bird song: listen to recordings of a canary and try whistling back.
- Yellow things: make a list of everything yellow you can see.
- Window watching: count the birds that visit your garden or window in ten minutes.