Cage & Aviary Birds

Cage & Aviary Birds is written by bird experts for bird fanciers and is packed with club, show and bird related news, advice, birds for sale and comment. Established in 1902, Cage & Aviary Birds provides a wealth of practical advice and tips from the top names in the bird world, plus opinion, controversy, species and hobbyist profiles and nostalgia.

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON… your last chance to win a top-quality bird for £1

Police confiscate vast wild-bird egg collection

QuOTE of the WEEK

Also in the news…

Rainfall is linked to ‘divorce’ in endemic warblers

Tagged cuckoos reveal conservation insights

Lewis's Gloster wins BIS for the second year running

PARROTS & PEOPLE

GLOSTERS: a never-ending debate

EGRETS GO LARGE!

WALTER JONES

Editor's Letter

Cage & Aviary Birds

Flying west for budgies • Texas! The Lone Star State is one part of America that everyone wants to visit, and if you were invited to judge there, what would you say? SAM WILDES said ‘yes’ and here's how the pre-show adventure unfolded. It began at Derby Coach Station – but it did get better

The banter and competition of the show scene • Although Andy has had to skip a planned event, he's finding the exhibitions a social treat again this year – and naturally his breeding schemes are being laid for 2025

CHOOSING BLUES: it's not always easy • After a show season which has brought DAVID ALLEN great pleasure with judging engagements, pair-selection looms – and with blue Lizards especially that can't be rushed

Gail Harland's WATERBIRDS

Gentle giants from New Guinea • In this special Cage & Aviary Birds which celebrates the best of foreign birds, BILL NAYLOR chooses a suitably exotic subject – or rather four of them! These are, of course, the fabulous crowned pigeon species which are such favourites in zoos and bird parks

Foreign bird maestros near me • For DAVE BROWN, mention of foreign birds at once calls to mind two hugely contrasting birdmen who lived in his area

The Foreign Bird League and its place in aviculture • Every year, the glorious wealth of foreign species in aviculture is celebrated by the Foreign Bird League, an international society whose members have included, appropriately, some of the most colourful characters in birdkeeping. Here, the Foreign Bird League's editor DARREN SEFTON summarises its history which began during the inter-War years

The foreign bird fancy in 1924 • Although always in a minority in terms of show-bench figures, foreign birds drew keen interest from the fancy – and the general public – of a hundred years ago. A handful of dynamic figures appear to have driven this section of the hobby and often featured in Cage Birds: names such as the eminent judges Allen Silver and John Frostick, the innovative breeder-exhibitor Mrs Dalton-Burgess and the no-nonsense expert Captain Rattigan

Foreign birds: the ultimate • For GARY BRALSFORD, the immense variety in the foreign bird section means that it poses the most worthwhile challenge in the entire hobby. Here he considers some suitable species for first-timers, several interesting possibilities for ‘stepping up’ in terms of demands on skill – and some total knockouts for those with the knowhow and resources

My favourite foreign birds • For CHRIS GREEN, it's the toucan family that was his first love and continues to inspire him today. And he's lucky enough to work with a fine example of the family, the green araçari

Western Australia: a paradise for admirers of foreign birds • Many foreign bird enthusiasts have visited Australia, and ROB INNES is now among them. Here he picks out some highlights from a fascinating and easy-to-organise fortnight spent in the area around Perth. All photos...