Book  (2013)  Page(s) 168.  
 
Suppose, intitially, we regards R. hugonis as a form of R. xanthina. The variety Canary Bird on this basis arises from within R. xanthina the view taken by Philips and Rix (1993). If however they are regarded as separate species  (Beales 1997) then Canary Bird is an interspecific hybrid R. hugonis x R. xanthina. (Unless seeds were harvested from one of these parents and grown on, not only the parentage but the direction of cross is also an inference.)

Website/Catalog  (2007)  Page(s) 32.  Includes photo(s).

Book  (2002)  Page(s) 30.  
 
Rated 6.1

Magazine  (2001)  Page(s) 22. Vol 95, Part 1.  
 
Peter Harkness.  Favourite Singles.
Canary Bird Species hybrid shrub. After 1907.  Petite fern-like leaflets on red-brown arching branches form a graceful setting for the saucer shaped clear yellow flowers as they appear in springtime.  The flower stems are so short that the effect is of blooms nestling along the branches.  This needs space for it can reach 9ft x 12ft and does not improve with pruning.

Book  (2000)  Page(s) 140.  Includes photo(s).
 
‘Canary Bird’/Rosa xanthina ‘Canary Bird’ = Arbuste… bois épineux et rougeâtre… folioles ténues de son fin feuillage vert tendre… arbuste imposant auquel il faut accorder le place, car la taille risque non seulement de ruiner sa grâce naturelle, mais de faire dépérir ses rameaux; le seul toilettage… suppression des branches mal formées ou trop âgées. D’une santé à toute épreuve, il craint seulement les vents froids printaniers… Découvert en Angleterre avant 1907. RHS Award of Garden Merit 1993.

Book  (Oct 1996)  Page(s) 37.  
 
Canary Bird Description... quite large canary-yellow single flowers. Leaves are dark green and fern-like.

Book  (1996)  Page(s) 9.  Includes photo(s).
 
Canary Bird wild rose hybrid shrub... usually [blooms] before any other rose... fine ferny leaves... There is some question as to whether it came to Britain directly from China in 1907, as seed from a similar Chinese species, or was a botanic garden selection raised subsequently and passed along...

Book  (1995)  Page(s) 54.  Includes photo(s).

Book  (Nov 1994)  Page(s) 106.  
 
'Canary Bird' At one time distributed as Rosa xanthina spontanea, under the impression that is was the wild type of R. xanthina, this has since been considered a hybrid, perhaps R. hugonis x xanthina or pimpinellifolia. I have found no record of its origin. The richly coloured brown stems have a few prickles towards the base and are noticeably warty, i.e. covered with tiny excrescences. The leaves are of bright, fresh green, luxuriant but small and fern-like; they are hairy beneath, and also in the folds above. The flowers open wide, and are of clear, bright yellow, creating a really splendid effect on the arching young branches and small twigs. Unfortunately it is subject to "die back," like R. hugonis, and it is therefore best to propagate it from cuttings or layers. It appears to be most at home in the drier parts of Britain on well-drained soils. Heps maroon or blackish, not conspicuous. 7 feet by 7 feet. Reputedly raised at Osterley Park.

Book  (Apr 1993)  Page(s) 72.  
 
Canary Bird Shrub, yellow, yellow stamens, paler than R. xanthina spontanea, with which it is often confused, single (5 petals), 1907, (R. xanthina 'Canary Bird'); Probably R. hugonis x R. xanthina.