Photo: Cock of the rock: mossy boulders like this are well received by aviary jays Like many other species of crow, the jay is a plausible mimic, which adds entertainment to the company of captive individuals. Bill Naylor shares…
Photo: white-throated dipper: found in hilly locations across the UK including Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, Scotland and the Lake District Dippers don’t merely dip, they plunge, walk and even fly under water. Bill Naylor guides us around the life of…
Photo: © Shutterstock.com/Neil Bromhall. Adult swift with two chicks. Swifts usually nest in holes and cavities in building roofs, but new construction methods have made these in short supply After Tony Tilford saw how edible-nest swiftlet numbers have been boosted in…
Photo: © Shutterstock.com/Piotr Krzeslak Jarrod Cotter turns his attention to the cuckoo, whose characteristic call that once announced the arrival of spring is now rarely heard in the British countryside THE cuckoo is a dove-sized bird with ash-grey upperparts,…
Photo: © Shutterstock.com/iliuta goean. Northern or common wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) pair: note the female’s light brown plumage (left) in comparison to the male’s black mask and wings Often travelling thousands of miles from its winter home to summer breeding…
Photo: During the breeding season, male yellowhammers have vibrant plumage; bright yellow on the head and belly, as well as red-brown feathers streaked with black Few native birds are as cheering to the eye or the ear as the…
Photo: Austin Middlemiss. Two in one: the Siberian cock’s left side is more advanced than the right, showing the clear contrast between the first-winter and adult plumages WELL the inevitable has happened: I’ve bought another flight. However, the reason…
Photo: Tony Tilford. A male red-backed shrike. Note the cock bird’s grey head, pink chest and black highwayman’s mask Well-known for its seemingly brutal predatory and feeding habits, the red-backed shrike has become virtually extinct in the UK as a breeding…
Above: Such a proud moment: Mark Jones’s father Walter Jones was an outstanding breeder of British hardbills, mules and hybrids. Here he is pictured at the 1992 National Exhibition where he was a supreme champion with a clear buff goldfinch x…
Above: Winning exhibits at the 2015 Morpeth CBS open show. Austin nearly didn’t make it to last year’s after some softbill cages he’d ordered took longer to arrive than expected WELL I managed to get a show team out at the…