Innholdsfortegnelse for April 16, 2025 i Cage & Aviary Birds

SHOWS AT WHITEHAVEN CBS’S recent open show, champion fancier Neil Cowan enjoyed a whole host of wins, taking home the awards for best Border canary, best champion, the Bob Hodgson Memorial trophy, Betty Hodgson Memorial Trophy and the Joyce Barwise Memorial Plaque. Whitehaven CBS secretary Bryan Barwise said: “Neil had an excellent show, which included having second best champion with a variegated buff cock and fourth best champion with a variegated yellow hen.” The open show held on October 27, 2024, had a slight drop in entries, but with a small increase in exhibitors. In the British section, Alan Pennington claimed five awards including best British or mule or hybrid and best champion British mule or hybrid. He also claimed best champion British, best champion mule or hybrid, best British…

I ATTENDED AN International Ornithological Association (IOA) meeting on March 15, one of the two meetings a year. It was a general business meeting and we agreed on some things about our ring suppliers, as well as which clubs we would be supporting with sponsorship. The IOA also supports the Turtle Dove Trust (TDT) with a supply of closed rings for its captive rearing and release program. This is a good example of how the IOA uses part of the income generated and puts this back into the fancy for a worthwhile conservation project. The TDT project piqued my interest and a trip is on the cards to see the work they do to try to maintain a viable population of turtle doves. The COM UK meeting was in the…

BUDGERIGARS IN BREEDING exhibition budgies, I don’t set specific goals, because I am always looking for continued improvement in a good number of chicks. But this year, I found myself with mainly cock birds that I had either not used, not got the best from, or not had any chicks from at all! So I’d like to focus on a bird I call Mr Big Sky (Photo 1). With my present record-keeping, I can only go back so far with photos, so let’s start with what I have. This line has been my own ringed (blood) birds since 2020, which gives me a great feeling of achievement. Mr Big Sky’s father was bred from a grey green cock which is basically my foundation cock for a very large number of…

COVER STORY: NATIVE SOFTBILLS I HAVE a wonderful story to tell about Manuel, our red-backed shrike. After finishing moulting, Manuel did not get his flight feathers back. He was on the floor most of the time as he couldn’t fly. It was for this reason that he spent winter inside the birdroom. It was in March that Manuel began to sing. He was very fit and active despite his inability to fly. The dulcet tones of his song could be heard all day long. In April, I put him back in his flight where the hen had stayed all through the winter. Unfortunately, the hen started attacking him. I put him back in the birdroom. A week later, I put him in the flight next to the hen shrike. Manuel…

WHY do we need to keep a close eye on the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) in the wild? It ought to be simply for the sheer enjoyment of seeing such a magnificent bird – the world’s longest, brightest blue macaw. But regrettably those attributes mean that it is highly susceptible to illegal removal from the wild for clandestine trade. The number of hyacinth macaws in the seasonally flooded Brazilian Pantanal, where 77 per cent of the macaw’s population lives, reached a critically low level in the 1980s, with an estimated excess of 10,000 birds being captured and sold illegally. In the following decade, the situation worsened further with the loss of habitat by deforestation and fires, reducing the size of the population to about 1,500 individuals. However, thanks to the…

FANCY HISTORY I RECENTLY acquired about 20 Cage Birds issues from 1956. That was two years before I started out keeping birds, and they were issues I had never seen before. The first thing I noticed was the size of the magazine compared to the weekly editions we know today. They were much smaller, and the only colour they contained was the dark green masthead on the outer front cover – yes, green, not red as it is today. The type face used was smaller, too. I’m guessing a Size 6 font, so the fanciers of the day all had good eyesight, it appears! The second thing was that each page was numbered, with a running number throughout the year. I can recall when binders were issued by Cage Birds,…

BREEDING WHETHER your breeding birds are new parents or seasoned breeders, understanding how to respond when things go wrong is crucial to the survival of those precious youngsters. One of the most common emergencies that can arise is when a chick has fallen out of the nest. This often occurs when the parent leaves the nest to feed, and the chick is accidentally dragged out by the adult’s movement or the shifting of the nest material. To reduce the likelihood of this happening in the first place, it’s essential to regulate the amount of nesting material you offer. Take great care that the nest does not exceed the height of the nest-pan lip or entrance. That is the best step to prevent chicks from falling out. If a chick does…

CLUB NEWS FOREIGN BIRD LEAGUE the Spring 2025 edition of the Foreign Bird League magazine has now been posted out to all paid up members. This should arrive no later than April 21, but if your copy does not arrive, please contact Bryan on: FBL-Honsec@gmail.com This edition contains articles on memories of birdkeeping in Australia, a visit to Mexico, the Green Honeycreeper, Bartlett’s Bleeding Heart Dove, some amazing aviaries in Zurich, Saddle-billed Storks, 2022 breeding scheme results and the Breeding Scheme for 2024 submission form. Members are respectfully reminded that subscriptions for 2025 are now due and continue to be at the same rate as for the last 14 years. This can be paid via the Paypal page on the website: www.Foreignbirdleague.com. HAVANT CBS held its latest meeting on April…

BKA RING INITIATIVE TO BE HELD on December 7, the Bird Keepers Association (BKA) show has a new initiative. Fanciers select their best pairings and use BKA closed rings. On the day, fanciers enter 10 birds in their respective classes. Points will be allocated to the birds: 10 points for first place; 9 points for second place etc. The fancier with the most points will be crowned best BKA breeder in show and will win £40. Visit the BKA Facebook page “BKA Southern National Premier Show” for more details. ERRANT HAWK CAUGHT A CAPTIVE-BRED Harris hawk that escaped from its owner and had been terrorising residents in Hertfordshire has been caught and is being re-trained by a falconer. The bird has attacked around 50 people since the start of March.…

WIGAN ROLLER CANARY CLUB THE Wigan Roller Canary Club singing contest was held at Methley Working Men’s Club on Saturday February 8 – a good attendance ensured two full classes of birds were entered. Judges were D. Pointon and K. Roberts and show manager R. Williams. The contest sponsors were W. Weir and D. Pinkney. The continued dedication and support of the Union of Roller Canary Judges has been a vital part of the continuing singing contests, and we especially thank Dave and Ken for judging for us this season. The judges cover many miles, often in bad weather, to be with us and we appreciate all their commitment. Usual thanks to all helpers and to Josie for the excellent lunches. The contest concluded with the issue of 2025 rings…

COLCHESTER CBS – April 17, Stanway Village Main Hall, Villa Road, Stanway, Colchester, Essex CO3 OHR, 7.45pm. Topic talk by Fiona Hutchings from the Essex Field Club. Enquiries: 07484 688 334. DAGENHAM CBS – April 19, Wantz Hall, 257 Rainham Road North, Dagenham, Essex RM10 7DX, 10am to 12pm. Talk by Steve Chennells on line breeding. Sales table available. New members and guests are always welcome and there will be the usual raffle, chats and cups of tea. Enquiries: 07852 959 447 or visit: www.dagenhamcbs.com DARTFORD BIRD SOCIETY – April 16, Royal British Legion Hall, Devon Road, South Darenth, Kent DA4 9AB, 7.30pm. Quiz night with prizes. New members welcome. Enquiries: 07885 186 429. DUNBARTONSHIRE BS – April 21, The Rock Bowling Club, Pier Esplanade, Castle Road, Dumbarton G82 1JJ,…