Picking Pairs On A Snowy Sunday

DONALD SKINNER-REID puts his spare time to good use deciding on his Scots, Belgian and Giboso breeding tactics.

Life In A Garden Aviary

Parrot Society secretary LES RANCE continues his three-part series on the pleasures of colony-breeding budgerigars with tips on feeding, nesting and closed-ringing youngsters.

Success On Two Fronts

There’s nothing more satisfying as a big win with your specialist breed... unless it’s a second big win with your other specialist breed. It doesn’t happen often, but last year it happened to HARRY CLARKE , one half of the successful Clarke & Gillott Fife partnership. He talks to Dave Brown about the well-oiled workings of the partnership, and also his own solo enterprises.

Roller Karaoke

This month, GARY BRALSFORD hits the ground running as he prepares his birds for the breeding season by employing an interesting tactic that involves playing wild bird calls...

Three Years In The Making

After a break from keeping the charismatic dusky munia, in 2016 NEIL BICKELL decided to start up with this species again. But the road ahead wasn’t easy, with problems sourcing new stock, breeding challenges and messy nests.

Autumn Deluge Of Yorkies

When STEVE DOMINEY was invited to judge Turkey’s Edremit Yorkshire Canary Club show in October last year, he couldn’t pass up the chance to enjoy the sight of more than 1,000 Yorkies on the bench... and a trip on the local mayor’s yacht went down well, too!

Green Means Go

After a rather too eventful start to the breeding season, DAVE BROWN decided to evaluate his pairings, get his birds back on track fitness-wise and trial a new ingredient in his eggfood, which seems to be going down a treat.

Can Apples Poison Our Birds?

After scientists recently revealed that washing apples with water and even commercial bleach, does not remove all traces of the pesticides they have been sprayed with, ROSEMARY LOW decided to do her own investigation to see if these findings could mean our birds are at risk.

Where's My Hawk?

With technology advancing at speed, GRAHAM WELLSTEAD considers some ingenious new techniques for tracking falcons.

Nutrition: What's Best For Our Birds?

DOT SCHWARZ discusses the pros and cons of pelleted diets and seed mixtures in the first of three articles on parrot diets. Part Two: April 18.

Quality On The Show Bench In Bahrain

When DAVE BROWN fulfilled an invitation to judge the zebra finches at the Bahrain Zebra Finch and Budgerigar Club’s show this year, he was well impressed at the quality of birds set in front of him – and some of the birdrooms he visited made an equal impression.

If I Could Start Again

We only get one start in the birdkeeping hobby, and none of us ever gets everything right. Here SAM WILDES shares his own ‘I wish’ list of stuff he’d like to have been told as a beginner.

Everything But The Budgie

To complement our newfound enthusiasm for making friends and doing business online, there’s nothing like a bird sale for getting fanciers together. FRED WRIGHT reviews the sales scene, and concludes it’s so much better than it was – unless you are after quality show budgerigars!

On The Grandest Stage Of All

This year, a piece of exhibition history was made at the World Show in Cesena, Italy, which posted a serious claim to be the greatest bird show of all time. The experienced canary judge ERNESTO GRACIA was privileged to be part of it, and here presents the first of three articles that reflect on the Cesena show, the European exhibition fancy, and Britain’s part in it.

Pretty In Pink: The Carmine Bee-eater

Even among the myriad dazzling species of Africa, this bee-eater stands out with its outrageous plumage hues. But which bee-eater, exactly...? BILL NAYLOR explains how the carmine bee-eater has now become two, and summarises the challenges of keeping these beauties in aviculture.

I've Got A Bone To Pick With You!

Amid underhand suggestions that his winning corona had benefited from a judge’s prejudice, BOB BAGGS turned to the show records to refute them and pressed on with his Glosters.

Cage Design: My Main Conclusions So Far

After many years of keeping birds, Yorkshire canary champion BRIAN KEENAN has deeply pondered the pros and cons of wood, plastic and wire as materials, and the best ways to arrange the components of the cage. Here is his summary.

Loud Songster of the Reedbed

Though a rarity in aviculture, the reed warbler is a native softbill with bags of character that would repay study in private collections, says BILL NAYLOR, and urges fanciers to follow the late Frank Meaden’s pioneering success.

The Lonely Allure Of Street Pigeons

Pigeons and People, written in the 1960s, broke new ground in tracing the sentiment attached to the street pigeons of the world. WILLY NEWLANDS pays tribute to its extraordinary historical range, while not necessarily agreeing with the authors’ somewhat unsentimental conclusion

Canaries Month By Month

Brian Keenan shares an encounter with a mature bird fancier whose attitude is an example to all of us... and feels inspired about the approach of another breeding season, even those ordinary birdroom chores that we can’t neglect.