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.

Chester Zoo helps to hatch rare dove chicks

Tropican Prize Draw

QUOTE of the WEEK

Also in the news…

BTO researchers give cuckoos a ‘head start’

Park Life

Can ‘harvesting’ benefit parrots? • It sounds like fighting fire with fire, but DAVID WAUGH reports on a project where the licensed taking of young cockatoos from the wild for sale on the commercial market, may help to safeguard the species’ overall population

Snakes don’t need ladders to attack birds

‘HARMFUL’ PESTICIDES?

Editor’s Letter

Cage & Aviary Birds

In search of the ‘firetail’ • Having kept redstarts, among other British softbills, over the years, TERRY KELLY reckoned it was time he saw them in their native woodland. Living in Yorkshire was a good start!

Why dust management’s a must • Too many fanciers have been obliged to quit the hobby with health issues that have been exacerbated by feather dust. DAVE BROWN says it doesn’t have to be that way and describes various effective ways to curb this birdroom blight, including air filtration, ventilation and humidity control, as well as hygiene

Picture-perfect birds in collections • GARY BRALSFORD looks back to the classic days of bird photography, brings news of a mouthwatering modern photoshoot, and rounds up June’s UK softbill scene for us

The fascinating life of francolins • Fans of pheasants tend to neglect their less showy francolin relations. To BILL NAYLOR, that’s a mistake because these birds reward study – if you can get used to their rather repetitive voices

Togetherness teaches breeding • How do you instil good breeding habits into young psittacines? Let them learn in a group, says RAFAEL ZAMORA, and even the most difficult species will make surprising progress

LEARNING ON THE JOB • First breeding season for Andy’s native finches – and he’s got some chicks! So he figures he’s doing some things right but some he’ll need to think through again

Thinking canaries? Think self-sufficiency • DAVE BROWN continues his overview of ‘minority’ canary breeds and proposes three that (fingers crossed) should offer a degree of Brexit-proofing for breeders in the longer term

READERS’ GALLERY

Club News • Welcome to the club and show pages — the bit that’s all about you

OPEN SHOWS July/August 2025

Double Chris victory

A commitment to colour • The Bristol-based GREEN, CINNAMON & WHITE BORDER FCC now welcomes birds of every hue, as STUART MASON reports

Club roundup

What’s on this week