Green-crowned brilliant (above): the rich umber throat indicates that this is an immature bird, probably a male © Shutterstock.com/Ondrej Prosicky These jewel-coloured flower-kissers captured the heart of the youthful GEOFF GRADWELL and he has remained smitten Of all the…
Above: Jon tops up his youngsters when they need a hand, and also offers his show birds a treat or two to sustain them If you see youngsters struggling in the birdroom, step in and help, says JON ASHBY…
Branching out (above): the tawny frogmouth’s ‘eyebrows’ seem to add to its resemblance to a dead snag © Shutterstock.com/Wright Out There Supreme in the art of camouflage, the tawny frogmouth is a favourite bird-park subject with a character to match…
Above: A male scarlet honeyeater forages high in the flowering trees. Photo: © Shutterstock.com/Silva Vaughan-Jones So what does a scarlet honeyeater eat? The answer, says top Australian softbill man JOHN KEARNEY, is more complex than you might think. Continues…
Above: Nelson in his immaculate birdroom: ‘So far the Mehringer has proved very free-breeding’ Photo: Nelson Rato Dave Brown talks to NELSON RATO, an accomplished Portuguese canary fancier who is now living in Scotland – and is championing an…
Above: Pleasing sideline: a 2019-bred black-faced silver mutation. Photo: Dave Brown DAVE BROWN is reaping the benefits of changes made to his birdroom, with some one hundred zebbie chicks already ringed. It’s just a shame about all the DIY…
Above: Plastic split rings. Photo: Ivan Chapman/BCCC Colour canary champion exhibitor IVAN CHAPMAN explains his approach to placing split rings on his young birds, and talks us through this process step by step. It doesn‘t need to be fiddly!…
Above: The victim: buzzards habitually use posts or poles as vantage points to watch for prey For all the conservation successes, Britain’s raptors are still routinely persecuted – and this is a systematic campaign that isn’t dying out. GRAHAM…
Above: a lightback and normal still in the nest. The normal has a promising head An unproblematic early breeding season isn’t at all what DAVE BROWN is used to, so he’s enjoying a relative deluge of chicks – while…
Above: Say what? Despite its name, the California quail’s call is often transcribed Chi-ca-go! Photo: Chris Green Quite easy to keep, and a doddle to breed, here’s a gamebird that will draw admiring looks from your aviary visitors, reckons CHRIS GREEN.…