Here is an email message that was sent to the Canary List.

Subj:	[CANARY] Trouble Shipping Canaries
Date:	99-09-27 21:22:32 EDT

Friends, I've had a harrowing experience tonight. I'd like some input on
where I went wrong. I have an idea, but maybe the experience and the
input can save someone else what I've been through today.

I wanted to ship some birds to a friend in San Diego, California. I got
the appropriate approved shipping box from Horizon. I called my local
post office this afternoon to make sure everything was going to go
right. I said that I wanted to ship some BIRDS etc. to California. Gal
said great, have them here by 4:30, no problem. So I took the birds in
the approved box to the p.o. at 3:30. Did all their rigmarole, the gal
assured me that they do this all the time, not to worry, blah blah blah.
So I came home and let my friend know the birds were on their way. I
told the gal at the post office that the birds were FINCHES. At 7:30
tonight, the postal service at the airport called. No ifs ands or buts,
they would not ship these birds. He said a new regulation took effect
about a month ago. NO WARM BLOODED ANIMALS. If they had been baby
chickens it would have been no problem, but it was too late for me to
claim they were chicks. (Even though last time I checked, chickens are
warm blooded animals too.) So I had to drive all the way out to the
airport tonight to retrieve them.

Input? Is there really some new law on the books about this? Or did I
just happen to get a crabby postal employee? What could I have done
differently? Is there some trick to this that I missed? Has anyone else
had this kind of experience? What about the private delivery services,
such as Federal Express? Has anyone tried those?

Luckily, none of the birds are any the worse for wear, even though they
spent the past three hours sitting on the cement floor of the warehouse
out there. I think maybe this is the first and last time I'll attempt
bird mailing.

Sue C.
Grand Rapids, MI

A response to this message pointed to the following web site, which lists a U.S. Postal Service judgement:
Mailability - Shipping of Bobwhite Quail

So, even though many people continue to successfully ship canaries through the U.S. Postal Service, it is apparently at the ignorance or whim of the local agents.

Here is a link to another shipping story: A Song for Sergi

Here are the exact regulations from the United States Postal Service website:

http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52.htm

Here is the relevant part:

525 Nonmailable Live Animals
Nonmailable types of animals discovered in the mailstream must be reported in accordance with the instructions in POM 139.118. Additionally, the mailer and the post office of mailing must be notified to prevent future shipments from being incorrectly accepted for mailing.

525.1 Live Birds
Live birds, other than the type of day-old poultry specified in 526.31, are nonmailable. In addition, day-old poultry vaccinated with Newcastle disease (live virus) is nonmailable. The following are some examples of nonmailable birds:
a. Canaries.

Another shipping option is through some airlines as air freight. Each carrier has their own rules and these change, so whatever worked in the past might not be allowed anymore. The shipper must deliver the birds to the airport at times incompatible with a day job.

My recommendation for out-of-town people who wish to buy canaries is to visit when air fares are discounted and hand-carry the bird(s) back with them on board the plane. Most airlines sell a pet pass for the passenger compartment, although prices and rules vary. The time of year, the weather, flight delays or diversions will not matter because the birds stay with the owner at all times. This is how I obtained most of my original breeding stock.