Cage & Aviary Birds

THE RSPCA IS appealing for information after a group of eight youths was seen shooting catapult pellets at pigeons in Mote Park in Maidstone on June 19. One pigeon had to be euthanised after it was found with a hole in its side drowning in a pond. RS

ENSURE YOUR YOUNG birds receive the best start in life with Tropican Hand-Feeding Formula. Thanks to Tropican, we have three 2kg bags up for grabs. Tropican says its Hand-Feeding Formula provides proper daily nutrition for baby parrots up to fledglin

ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23, budgerigar fanciers from across the country will come together at the Dome in Doncaster for the annual Budgerigar Society (BS) Club Show. In addition to the main show, bird sales and trade stands, the BS hosts a fantastic pr

“Three types of nests are built: a roosting nest; a nest for incubating eggs; and a brooding nest.” – The moorhen is a plain-looking bird with a complicated lifestyle. Bill Naylor makes it all clear on page 12. ■

LONDON ZOO HAS welcomed a hatch of 11 Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) chicks this year – and the birds have recently had their first swimming lesson. The chicks, named Kermit, Ron Burgundy, Stella, Piggy, Ernest, Cricket, Tiki, Ping, Pong, Se

URBAN CROWS AND magpies have adapted the way they build their nests to include “anti-bird spikes” to scare away other birds and prevent them from taking eggs from the nest, researchers have found. Biologists from Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the

WHEN I WAS at school, I decided I wanted to become a scientist. After I had left, I spent seven years at university gaining qualifications, before joining an industrial company to work on the reduction of pollution from motor vehicles. At the same ti

AS I explained in my letter last week, some people seem to be born with a natural ability to spot a bird with potential. Others learn the art through time spent in the hobby and experience; and sadly some people never do. Unfortunately, buying any bu

WHAT WILL BE the top breeds of exhibition canary a hundred years from now? I would love it if the London fancy was among them. But who knows what the 22nd century could bring – perhaps one or more new star varieties? I was typing “entirely new”, but

Editor: Rob Innes. Tel: 01959 541 444 Email: birds.ed@kelsey.co.uk Deputy Editor: Laura Welch. Tel: 01959 541 444 Email (News): birds.news@kelsey.co.uk Email (Club News): birds.general@kelsey.co.uk Design: Focused On Design Ltd Email: design@focusedo

BREEDING and keeping yellowfaces is not especially difficult, but there can be confusion. There are two main types: the yellowface we are more familiar with, which is the English yellowface; and the possibly more attractive, and more recently introdu

WHAT WERE PAST fanciers doing at this time of year? Old B is always interested, and recently his light reading has included the August 1952 issues of Cage Birds. They paint a lively picture of a period when the hobby was on the rise after WW2, and th

THE act of reproduction is the biological process whereby two individuals mate and pass on genetic material in order to create offspring that are genetically and morphologically similar in appearance. In many groups of animals, this can be a simple p

C&AB TEAM PICKS THEIR FAVOURITE ENTRY EACH MONTH SEND us your birdkeeping pictures and we'll publish them on this page. Each month the C&AB team will select their favourite picture(s)! Simply email your picture to: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk with “Re

ABERDEEN BS had to cancel its open show on July 16 2023 because of avian flu in the area of Aberdeenshire. The next meeting will be at the Northern Bowling Club Orchard Street, Aberdeen, at 7.30pm on August 10 to discuss club business, etc. ANDOVER C

BRISTOL BS Saltford Community Hall, Wedmore Road, Saltford, Bristol BS31 3BY. Tel: 07748 740 794 NORTH WEST LEICESTER BS Markfield Community Centre, Markfield, Leics LE67 9ST. Tel: 01509 733 058 SOUTH WEST LANCS BS Padgate Community Centre, Station R

ABERDEEN BS – August 10, Northern Bowling Club, Orchard Road, Aberdeen AB24 3DP, 7.30pm. Discuss club business. Enquiries: 01358 721 550. BIRMINGHAM BS – August 8. Aviary visit to Sam Wildes. Contact the club for address. Enquiries: 07515 701 411. GA

IT IS with great sadness that the Yorkshire Foreign Bird Society (YFBS) report the passing of chairman and show secretary Bill Ingham on July 8 2023. Bill and his wife Yvonne had been members of YFBS for many years and showed a wide range of lovebird

AFTER the mallard, the most common waterbird in the UK is the moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). During the winter its population here more than doubles, owing to the influx of birds from Scandinavia and elsewhere on the Continent. This is one of the mos

RECENTLY, guest speaker Alan Marchant gave a presentation outlining how he managed a large stud comprising 72 pairs of birds. He explained how he records and assesses the quality of each individual bird utilising a “Matrix”, allowing the overall deve