Cage & Aviary Birds April 9, 2025

SHOWS THE GENERAL LICENCE (GL) for Scotland has been updated and the wording rectified, following the news that the use of the wrong term meant that, on paper, bird shows and sales were banned in Scotland (see News, March 5). When the Scottish GL on bird gatherings was updated in February 2025, Section 6 said that show/sales organisers could not be licensed to admit birds that had come from an avian flu Prevention Zone, when it should have used the term Protection Zone. As the whole of Scotland is in a Prevention Zone, this effectively disallowed bird shows and sales in Scotland. Alan Philson, secretary of Irvine & District CBS, noticed the mistake and contacted the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) to clarify the situation. “Scotland’s birdkeepers are indebted…

SEABIRDS A WILD GANNET (Morus bassanus) that was found caught in fishing hooks and angling wire on a Northumberland beach has been successfully treated and released back into the wild. A member of the public found the gannet on the beach near Druridge Bay Country Park car park on March 13. RSPCA animal rescue officer (ARO) David Dawson collected the bird and took it to a local vet who removed the hooks using stitch scissors. It was then taken to Pawz4Thought animal rescue in Sunderland. Mr Dawson said: “This poor gannet could not walk and was totally incapacitated. There were three fishing hooks caught in the bird, one in each wing and one in the corner of the beak – it was in great distress… “This incident again demonstrates how…

HAITH'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS THE WINNERS OF the March Haith’s giveaway to win a choice of a 1kg bag of BRAVO! Budgie Seed or De Luxe Canary Seed are as follows: Robert Townsley, Northumberland; Anthony Cahill, London; Graham Matthews, South Yorkshire; Anthony Chappell, Gloucestershire; William Stephen, Scotland; Brian Sheldrake, Norwich; Gordon Christie, Banffshire; Karen Walker, Isle of Wight; Michael Coltman, Burton on Trent; and Graham Blackburn, Cambridgeshire. Congratulations! BRITISH LIST ADDITION THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE (Neophron percnopterus) has been added to Category A of the British list by the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee. While this species is usually found in parts of southern Europe, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran and India, a wild vagrant was first spotted in Britain in 2021. The adult bird was then seen in both Cornwall and Ireland…

SONGBIRDS A SURGE OF dopamine lets zebra finch chicks know when their singing practice is going well, finds new research. Scientists from Duke University in the USA tracked the flow of chemical signals in the reward circuit of the brain in male juvenile zebra finch chicks to find out how they have an intrinsic desire to learn songs. The findings, published in the journal Nature, could have implications for understanding human learning and neurological disorders. Male zebra finch chicks learn songs from their father and have to memorise and practise them to be able to attract a mate in adulthood. By practising songs and listening to the results, the birds gradually figure out how to produce the right notes and rhythms, which takes about three months from hatching. “The amount…

CONSERVATION DESPITE A FALL in overall biodiversity, conservation efforts are bringing species back from the brink of extinction, finds a new study. The review of more than 67,000 species (including 11,038 birds) has found that while nature continues to face a biodiversity crisis, targeted conservation efforts are helping many species to avoid extinction. A team, led by the University of Cambridge with the IUCN, Bird-Life International and Oxford and Durham Universities, used data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to track conservation successes where measures have already been put in place and whether those actions had a positive impact on the species’ conservation status, as well as where there is a need for urgent action. According to the IUCN, 28 per cent of the assessed species are threatened…

CONSERVATION THE THAMES ESTUARY is set to get a huge restoration thanks to a multimillion-pound investment. The project, “Transforming the Thames” led by the conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), will bring together conservationists, local communities, government bodies and landowners – including the RSPB, Essex and Kent Wildlife Trusts, The Environment Agency and Essex and Kent County Councils – to restore coastal habitats and ecosystems, benefitting birds and wildlife. Worth almost £4 million, the grant was awarded by the Endangered Landscape and Seascape Programme. It will enable the team to fund the first four years of their mission to restore key habitats across the estuary, tackle the biggest threats destroying existing habitats, and empower both individuals to businesses to scale up transformation across the region. “Decades of degradation and…