Cage & Aviary Birds

MARKING ONE YEAR since the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan launched, DEFRA has announced further incentives to boost nature recovery. The measures include new Marine Protected Areas with restrictions on damaging seabed trawling and a new

“Their legs appear streaked with white chalk due to their habit of defecating on them to keep cool.” Apart from that, marabou storks are perfectly house-trained… sort of. See Bill Naylor’s profile on page 10. ■

A PET COCKATIEL named Ernie that went missing in Greater Manchester last November has been reunited with its owner after she saw an appeal from the RSPCA on social media. Ernie vanished from his home during a period of stormy weather and survived uni

OWING TO THE cold weather we experienced in mid-January, I moved all the budgerigars that I intended to breed with in the summer of 2024 to inside aviaries. By moving the birds inside, they were out of the wind and their water did not freeze, even th

HAVING previously visited the World Show six times, I decided late in the day that I would attend the 71st show in Televera de La Reina, near Madrid in Spain last month. My usual travelling companion and two-times medallist Lloyd Le Page, also from G

AS I MENTIONED last week, a healthy contingent of UK-based fanciers headed for Spain in late January to check out the gargantuan avicultural event known as the World Show. And here is the first assessment (letter, left) from Guernsey-based canary man

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

WHAT is your set-up like? Rather small compared to a lot of people. My shed is 10ft x 10ft, fully PVC. I work with 12 BJS PVC breeding cages which are fantastic and super-easy to keep clean. I use Ostringer nest-boxes. There is a sink and under-cupbo

ARTICLES in Cage & Aviary Birds sometimes make you stop, reread and think. Two such were penned by Sam Wildes and Fred Wright in the December 20/27 issue. Both highlighted the progress being made with “colour budgerigars”. It was not the journey bein

Lord Tavistock has a pair of grey parrots that look like nesting. He writes: “The cock goes in and bites the log and she stays at the entrance bringing up food from her crop. If she looks in, an encouraging ‘Come on! Come on! Come on!’ rises from the

THE crowd scenes at waterholes in African wildlife documentaries often feature a group of marabou storks (Leptoptilus crumenifer): huge, bald-headed, long-legged, upright birds with formidable beaks. Their great pink pendulous gular pouch is used to

THERE has been a potentially encouraging development following the closure of the annual 100% Softbills Show (see my article in Cage & Aviary Birds, January 10). If enough interest can be raised, a new show organiser has offered to take on the event.

REGULAR readers will know by now that I love a mixed-variety show. I like all varieties of cage birds, so the opportunity to see good examples of different breeds and varieties, and learn a bit from their breeders, all in one hit – is to me a wonderf

IT IS now over two months since I set 22 breeding pairs, bringing the total to 31 pairs, as I already had nine cages occupied. Normally, on this timescale, some of my Bengalese pairs would have raised a round of chicks and be incubating a second clut

Send us your birdkeeping pictures and we’ll publish them on this page. Each month the C&AB team will pick their favourite picture(s)! Simply email your picture to: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk with “Readers’ Gallery” in the subject line or put them on

BELOW are the winners of the Princes Risborough CBS show at the end of 2023. Results: best canary, M. Stone; best foreign, R. Chamberlain; best budgerigar, R. Carr; best British, M. Logan; best junior, L. Lawton.

KENT ZFS held its annual show on November 18, 2023 and the show was a hit from the new officials that had taken over. See our News story in the February 7 issue. Here are more pictures from the event. ■

THE British Roller Canary Association held their open singing contest at Methley WMC on January 6, 2024. The show manager was J. Buckley and show secretary Mrs Irene Westmoreland. Judges were K. Westmoreland and D. Pinkney. 1st, D. Pinkney (47pts); 2

THE 2023 invitation show was held on November 26, 2023. The day started early for many with loading of the show cages into the car. At 7am, a group of members gathered outside the show hall at Northlands Park Community Centre in Basildon. With the us

Includes sales held by clubs to benefit their members. For other sales, please book an advert CREWE CBS – February 18, Wistaston Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Wistaston, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 8NR. Bird and equipment sale. Doors open to vendors at 1.30pm

ABERDARE CBS open show November 23 at The Penywaun Club & Institute, Gwladys St, Penywaun, Aberdare CF44 9DE. Birds to be entered from 9am, judging 12noon. Enquiries to Les, tel: 07765 378 191. BRITISH COLOURED CANARY CLUB will hold its Northern Cham

WILLIAM Walsh from Cork, writes: I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Bernard Howlett, such a great bird breeder, exhibitor and judge. I had the honour and pleasure of meeting Bernard for the first time in 2009. I was judging the National Briti