Canary Mary

"Well... no. You'd probably win and then I'd go hungry. See you around, fellow bird and bear buddy!"

- Canary Mary

Canary Mary is a character who appears in the Banjo-Kazooie series. She is skilled at flying despite her frail wings.

Banjo-Tooie
In Banjo-Tooie, Banjo and Kazooie first encounter Canary Mary in Glitter Gulch Mine, inside the Toxic Gas Cave near Wumba's Wigwam. She tells of how she once had a job of going down to Glitter Gulch Mine to check for poisonous gas. If she died, the location would be deemed unsafe. Canary Mary was later trapped in a cage in the cave and was abandoned. This references to how in the real world, people would send canaries into gold mines to check for gases, a practice which was later banned.

When Banjo and Kazooie break open the cage, Canary Mary flies out and lands beside a broken handcart. Once Banjo and Kazooie arrive there, Canary Mary tells them that she fixed the handcart and offers to race them, stating that her wings need some stretching because she was trapped in Canary Cave for a long time. The goal of the race is for Banjo to reach the other end of Glitter Gulch Mine before Canary Mary. During the race, Banjo must repeatedly press down on the handcart to move it along the track, and Canary Mary moves If Banjo reaches the other side first, Canary Mary rewards him with a Jiggy. If the duo end up too far behind Canary Mary, the race ends.

After the race, Canary Mary feels refreshed and offers to race Banjo back to the start. In the second race, Canary Mary flies faster, having regained her wing strength and composure. If Banjo also wins this race, he is rewarded a Cheato Page. After the second race, Canary Mary flies off, claiming that she will soon fly high above the clouds. This dream would be fulfilled, because Banjo and Kazooie later encounter Canary Mary at Cloud Cuckooland. If Banjo and Kazooie skip the second race, Canary Mary does not appear at Cloud Cuckooland.

Once Banjo and Kazooie reach Cloud Cuckooland, they re-encounter Canary Mary, who tells them that she is happy to be back in the air and challenges them to another race. During the race, rather than using a handcart, Banjo must ride a flying clockwork mouse. The race is longer than Glitter Gulch Mine's, and the difficulty has increased because Canary Mary flies a lot faster. Following suit, winning the first race yields another Jiggy for a reward, and the second race yields another Cheato Page.

After losing again, Canary Mary goes home to have dinner: a worm sandwich and a bag of millet. Kazooie wishes to race her for her meal too, but Canary Mary declines, saying that they have already taken all of her possessions and are likely to win again, leaving her hungry.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
"Remember Canary Mary? Did you have fun racing her? How I laughed when I was setting up those levels. I'm still laughing."

- Lord of Games

Although Canary Mary does not appear in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, she is directly referenced three times in the game. In Showdown Town, one of L.O.G.'s lines of dialogue when he is interacted with in front of his video game factory has him scoffing at the player while recalling difficulty of Canary Mary's races. She is also mentioned on an Infopost at Banjoland's Glitter Gulch Mine. It states that her races were originally based on control stick rotation, but this was changed when it was found to be incredibly uncomfortable to play. In the Jiggosseum's scoreboard, it is mentioned in the "Baseball" section that the Canary Mary Cardinals scored 2 points and lost against the Jolly Bandits, who scored 11 points.

Quotes

 * "Over here! I need you to help me out of this frightful predicament..."
 * "I'm Canary Mary. They used to send me down the mines to check for gas. If I died, they'd know it wasn't safe."
 * "They just left me in here. I don't think I'll last much longer..."
 * "Help me out of this cage. Please..."
 * "Woohoo! I'm free!"
 * "I've fixed the handcart. All I need now is a bear and bird to race."
 * "Ooooh, my wings are still a bit stiff from spending so long in that cage. How about a race to help me stretch them?"
 * "That's me! Now how about another race?"
 * "It was. But I fixed it and put it back on the track!"
 * "I like to try. Jump aboard if you fancy a go."
 * "Simply tap as fast as you can to drive the handcart along."
 * "Ready? 3... 2... 1... Go!"
 * "Mary wins!"
 * "Well, I guess you can have this shiny thing I found before I got locked in that cage."
 * "I can't remember what it is. It's been stuck under my wing for days."
 * "That was a fine race!"
 * "My wings are starting to feel better. How about racing back again? Hop on the cart if you think you can beat me again."
 * "Perhaps you'd like this piece of paper as a prize. It's been wedged in my..."
 * "I think I've spent quite enough time in this gloomy old mine. I'm off to swoop and soar among the clouds. Bye-bye, friends! Perhaps we'll see each other again..."
 * "Don't worry. You can use this clockwork mouse I've found instead."
 * "Oh yes. Go on, jump on board and press A as fast as you can to power the mouse along."
 * "Ready? 3... 2... 1... Go!"
 * "You beat me again!"
 * "Oh no, you didn't! Look what I found up here..."
 * "I also found another papery thing. Hop on the mouse if you want to try and win it..."
 * "Hop on the mouse to race again."
 * "Did I lose?"
 * "My last possession... Well, that's it then. I reckon I'll be off for my dinner."
 * "A nice worm sandwich and a tasty bag of millet."
 * "Well... No. You'd probably win and then I'd go hungry. See you around, fellow bird and bear buddy!"

Physical Appearance
She is a large, yellow canary with spiked hair, a few sparse feathers, and wears a matching dress and shoes. Unlike most birds, her beak is separate from her mouth.

Trivia

 * Concept art for Canary Mary reveals she used to have a much more oval-shaped head.
 * In Banjo-Tooie, while in Glitter Gulch Mine, Canary Mary comments that the Jiggy she gives Banjo was "stuck under her wing for days." Kazooie replies that they might not want it after hearing that. When Banjo wins a Cheato Page, she starts to say that it has "been stuck" but Kazooie stops her, saying the duo doesn't "want to know where it's been."
 * According to Ed Bryan, the canary in Fairy Tales: Snow White is Canary Mary.
 * To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Banjo-Tooie, Rare Ltd. humorously congratulated Canary Mary on Twitter for her birthday.