Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a young villain [with an added inference of smartness of dress].

1622		Beaumont & Fletcher Beggar’s Bush III i: My fine canary-bird, there’s a cake for thy worship.
1669		R. L’Estrange Supplement of Fables (1692) CCCCXCVIII 473: Tis Broad as tis Long at last, whether a Man be Undone by a Cabal of Sharpers [...] or by a Troup of Canary Birds upon Newmarket Heath.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Canary-Bird, a little Arch or Knavish Boy, a very Wag.
1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: Canary-Bird, a little arch or knavish Boy.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1781		Dyche & Pardon New General Eng. Dict. n.p.: CANARY BIRD [...] a cant name for a wheedler, flatterer, or pretender to great matters, that he neither can, nor designs to perform.

2. (orig UK und.) a prisoner.

1674		Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 157: Newgate is a Cage of Canary-birds.
1699		N. Ward London Spy V 112: It was Justice-Hall, where a Dooms-Day Court was held once a Month, to sentence such Canary-Birds to a Pentitential Psalm, who will rather be choak’d by the Product of Hempseed, for living Roguishly, than exert their Power in Lawful Labour.
1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: Canary-Bird, [...] a Rogue or Whore taken, and clapp’d into the Cage or Round-house.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc.
1833		‘A Shove In The Mouth’ in Regular Thing, And No Mistake 61: Oh! remember the time, when Canary-bird you / I toddled to see you in trib.
1839		Operative 11/2: ‘Now, for the cage, my pretty canary-bird’.
1841		‘F.L.G’ The Swell’s Night Guide K2: Canary Bird, inmate of a prison.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum.
1870		T.H. Braim New Homes 72: The prisoners were dressed in yellow – hence called ‘canary birds.’.
1885		J.S. Borlase Blue Cap, the Bushranger 1/1: She is laden with ‘canary birds,’ which she is exporting to a very healthy part of [...] Van Dieman’s Land.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 14: Canary Bird, a convict.
1917		The Dump III 26: [caption to cartoon of Tommy escorting two Boche prisoners] ’Ere yar Nobby – Two more canaries for the cage.
1960		(con. 1950-1960) R.A. Freeman Dict. Inmate Sl. (Walla Walla, WA) 23: Canary-bird – any inmate of a penal institution.
1963		L.F. Freed Crime in S. Afr. 107: A ‘canary bird’ or ‘absentee’ is a convict.