Bird Scene Summer 2024

BIRDISSUE 63: SUMMER 2024
SCENE
FIORINO
FRILLS
CHRIS SMITH
WIRE
BREEDING
CAGE TRIAL
DAVID ALLEN
CONQUERING
EGG
INFERTILITY
(PART 1)
GREG SHAW
MIKE ROXX
COBALT-
WINGED
PARAKEETS
AND OTHER
BROTOGERIS
THE
NATIONAL
EXHIBITION
2024
LES RANCE
THE FREE MAGAZINE FOR HOBBYIST BREEDERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS | AUTUMN EDITION OUT 1ST SEPTEMBER 2024

To Celebrate the
60th Anniversary of the
Parrot Society UK in 2026
Green-winged Macaw landing
Blazewinged
Conures
Would you like to join The
Parrot Society UK and
Steve Brookes (Wild
Parrots Up Close) on a very special
trip to Brazil with a chance to see
up to 18 species of parrots? These
include six Macaws including the
Hyacinth Macaw along with many
other Brazilian Birds and wildlife
as we travel through the Southern
Pantanal in this stunning
South American country.
Hyacinth Nest
Checking
Hyacinth Macaws
on feeder
Toco
Toucan
Throughout this trip, we are likely
to see in excess of 150 bird species
with many opportunities to photo,
video or just observe them in their
Natural Habitats.
We also have chances of some
rare mammals such as the Giant
Anteater and Giant River Otter with
a very outside chance of Jaguar
as we travel on the river in the
Pantanal plus snorkelling in the
Rio Prata likened to swimming
in an aquarium.
If you have any questions
about any aspects of this trip
please email Steve Brookes
steve@wildparrotsupclose.com
Yellow-faced Parrot
If you would like to see more
information about the trip
and the full itinerary check
out the webpage.
www.wildparrotsupclose.com/brazil-psuk-60th-tour-2026

CONTENTS
34
08
18 48
40
08
18
34
40
48
Wire Breeding Cage Trial
David Allen
Cobalt-Winged Parakeets
And Other Brotogeris
Mike Roxx
The National
Exhibition 2024
Les Rance
Conquering Egg
Infertility (Part 1)
Greg Shaw
Fiorino Frills
Chris Smith
DONATE TO OUR
CONSERVATION
FUND…
GO TO: WWW.THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG
BIRD SCENE: Issue 63: SUMMER 2024
BIRD SCENE is run by The Parrot Society UK, Audley House, Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted HP4 1EH, England.
FOR SALES AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRES Telephone or Fax: 01442 872245
Website: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org / E-Mail: les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org
The views expressed by contributors to this magazine are not those of The Parrot Society UK unless otherwise explicitly stated

INTRODUCTION
At this time of the
year when the
breeding season is
experiencing its
maximum
excitement for
parakeet breeders I
am always thrilled. It
is actually not easy
to put your feelings
into words so to sum
up this year’s results
so far ‘it is a bit
patchy’ seems to
give a good overall
snap shot of what
has been happening
with my collection. I
am convinced that
the cold weather in
the evenings in early
spring caused
problems for my
usually steady
breeding adult pairs
of Ring-necks, two
pairs of which only
had one baby each
and one pair only
had infertile eggs,
BY THE EDITOR
LES RANCE
WWW.THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG
LES.RANCE@THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG
although the hen is looking like she
maybe going down for a second round as
I pen this report.
One pair of Port Lincolns have had four
good healthy babies and the hen is
seriously interested in a second round.
The other pair fostered four baby
Barnard’s and had three of their own
babies, so they stayed nice and warm in
the box. They are all out in the aviary
now. Four days ago, I wormed them all
and the parents and that went very well.
Sometimes it can be a little difficult to do
this with flighty babies, but I took a
carrying box into the flight and as soon
as I had caught and wormed each baby, I
popped it into the box. This way it
reduces the birds in the aviary and I
know which birds I have wormed, and
the ones that are next for the treatment!
Besides worming all seven babies, I also
treated the adults. When I leave the
flight, I open the door of the box and the
five birds inside quickly returned to their
nest mates and parents. A job well done.
My Budgerigars, which are all blue
series, that I did not place in their
outside aviary until the 13 th April,
04 BIRD SCENE

because of the cold late spring, are
starting to lay eggs and I love to stand
and watch their antics as they go about
the breeding process, especially as they
select the nest box of their choice.
Sometimes hen Budgerigars can be
quite spiteful and will fight for a
particular box, over the years I have
learnt that the easiest way to reduce
this aggression is to use boxes that are
all the same size and all placed at the
same height. I always try to close ring
my baby Budgerigars so that I know
which year they were bred, it makes it
so much easier when pairing up for the
coming year. I find that I am always
looking forward to the next breeding
season and doing everything, I can to
ensure that it runs smoothly.
My two pairs of Turquoisine grass
parakeets, that bred so well in 2023
have also been disappointing, with only
one pair going to nest and it will be
interesting to see how many babies are
reared from this pair.
I continue to germinate my soaked
seed mixture, black sunflower seed,
mung beans and wheat, so I will have a
ready supply for the whole collection.
As the wheat takes longer to
germinate, I start that two days before
I soak the other two seeds. It will
obviously be very welcomed by the
birds with young and I hope it will
18
stimulate the pairs that have, yet to
commence the breeding cycle. Egg
food is also being supplied liberally to
all my birds, especially those with
youngsters. This time of year is always
so very exciting, but no doubt, there
will be set backs along the line, that is
what happens with livestock. I do hope
that your own breeding season is
progressing, as you would hope.
In this issue, we have an article about a
Wire Breeding Cage Trial skilfully
written by David Allen. Also a quality
article by Chris Smith on Fiorino Frills.
These two articles are supported by
Cobalt-winged Parakeets and other
Brotogeris by Mike Roxx, and finally
Conquering Egg Infertility from Greg
Shaw. Together with a very good
selection of images taken by our
Designer Neil Randle at the 2023
National Exhibition. So really quite a lot
for you to read and hopefully pick up
some pointers that may well assist you
BIRD SCENE 05

INTRODUCTION
CONTINUED
We are always
happy to receive
articles about the
species that are being
exhibited at The National
and are very pleased to
give publicity to the
club supplying the
information.
with whatever species of birds you
currently maintain. We are always
happy to receive articles about the
species that are being exhibited at The
National and are very pleased to give
publicity to the club supplying the
information. Regular readers will know
that Bird Scene has been produced to
publicise The National Exhibition held
each year at our October Sale Day/
Show at Stafford County Showground.
This publication is also used to
promote our Conservation efforts for
threatened parrots in the wild. An
archive of earlier editions of Bird Scene
can be found on the Home Page of our
website www.theparrotsocietyuk.org
so if you would like to see earlier
versions please do look at the Bird
Scene archive.
40
04 BIRD SCENE

BOOKS
FOR SALE
Jean Birdsall still has some of her husband’s books for sale,
the proceeds of which will go to Motor Neurone Disease funds.
The following books are £7.00 each. There is no Postage to pay
1 Cockatoos in Aviculture –
Rosemary Low
2 Guide to Australian White
Cockatoos – C. Hunt
3 Proper Care of Cockatiels –
Karl Herbert Delpy
4 Step by Step Book of Cockatiels –
Annmarie Barrie
5 Gouldian Finches, Pet Owners’
Manual – Barrons
6 Guide to Gouldian Finches –
ABK Publications
7 Proper Care of Finches –
St. Blazey
8 Proper Care of Parrots –
Skinner
9 Breaking Bad Habits in Parrots –
Greg Glendell
10 Guide to owning an Amazon
Parrot – John Bales
11 Guide to owning a Parrot –
Dennis Kelsey-Wood
12 Complete Encyclopaedia of
Cage & Aviary Birds –
Esther Verhoef
13 You & Your Pet Bird –
David Alderton
14 Psitticulture – Tony Silva
The following books are £11.00 each. There is no Postage to pay.
1 The Ultimate Parrot –
B. Wilson & M. Hurley
2 Parrots – David Alderton for
Salamander Books
3 Professional’ Book of Lovebirds –
Coborn
4 Encyclopaedia of Macaws –
Herner Lautermann
CONTACT JEAN ON 01946 451451 FOR FURTHER DETAILS

DAVID
ALLEN
LIZARD CANARY BREEDER
AND PANEL JUDGE
WIRE
BREEDING
CAGE TRIAL
Trial - Part 1
In the very first issue of Bird Scene (still available in the
archive) David Allen gave us an excellent history and
introduction into this beautiful canary. The Lizard is the
oldest canary and by 1742 it was well documented as a
spangled canary with dark wing markings and tail and “a
spot on the head called a cap”. By the 19th century the
08 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
X
BIRD SCENE 09

Lizard Canary had been perfected. A
bird depicted in a copy of The London
Illustrated News on 12 December
1846 is as the Lizard Canary is today.
There are a number of key points
that differentiate the Lizard Canary
from other varieties of canary, they
are fairly easy to breed but there are
a few rules that must be applied. A
pair must be Gold or Silver it doesn’t
matter which one is which. The cap
type must also be considered when
pairing two Lizards. Broken cap to
Clear cap or Broken to Broken. But
never pair two Clear caps together as
this would probably give over Capped
birds. The use of a non Cap to any of
the types of Cap is also satisfactory.
Why not check out the archive file and
see David’s full article? He has now
written about his ‘Wire Breeding
Cage Trial’.
I have been toying with the idea of
wire breeding cages for a few years
now. I can see the plus for them and I
could also see some disadvantages
as well. I have seen a number of
different types of wire breeding
cages when visited world shows. But
Brian Keenan’s recent article about
what type of breeding cages got me
rethinking about this again.
10 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
Birds I’ve bred in wire cages:
Blue Lizard that won the
2014 National
A number of British breeders are now
using wire cages including my good
friends and fellow Lizard breeders Rob
& Tina Bunting. There are a number of
companies now selling them in the UK
so there must be demand for this type
of cage. So I decided to try a few out
for my breeding season. I bought two
blocks of fours single cages which
have doors at either end and one in
the front. They have plastic trays but
with no wire floor as many of these
types of cages do. They are in white
and look very nice and clean.
There are a
number of companies
now selling them in
the UK so there must be
demand for this type of
cage. So I decided
to try a few out for my
breeding season.
These cages come complete with
feeders and plastic perches, the
feeders are similar to the type I
currently use on my wooden breeding
cages. I will use one for the canary
seed and the other for conditioning
BIRD SCENE 11

seed. My intention is to use all eight
cages for breeding in 2013 my plan
is to have 4 pairs of Blue lizard’s 2
pairs of normal lizards and 2 pairs of
my Florinos. I feel I need to give these
cages a good trial and by using all of
them with a variety of the birds I breed
it will give me a fair test.
I have put some hens in two of the
cages so far and am trailing which
type of floor covering is best. I have a
number of options for floor coverings.
The two I am currently trying is
sawdust and white paper. I have
decided to use tubular drinkers in all
the cages. Also in my trial I will use a
variety of types of nest pans. Nest
compartments on the outside of the
cage are one option, the other is nest
pans on stands in the cage and the
other is to hang the pan in the cage.
I intend to make detailed notes
of how my breeding season goes
with these new cages and how the
different types of nest pans perform.
The outcome of this experiment will
then be looked at and compared
with my other breeding results in my
old wooden breeding cages. This
comparison
will decide
if I invest
further
in more
all wire
breeding
cages
or not.
So watch
this space
for more
updates on
my experiment.
The other beauty of
these cages is they can
easily be cleaned using a
pressure washer at the end of
the breeding season and they will not
need repainting each year or so. Many
have told me that they have taken
to using them as there is nowhere
for mite to get into like wooden
breeding cages.

Trial - Part 2
This is my second season using wire
breeding cages. I have 8 single wire
breeding cages which I purchased
at the start of last years breeding
season as a trial. But I felt the birds
were not settled into the cages to
give a true result.
This season I used all 8 single
cages for breeding with a
selection of the types of
birds I keep, which
are Lizards and
Fiorino’s.
FEATURE
So what were the results? Well they
were very mixed as was my season
breeding as a whole a very trying one.
But I must say I bred as many birds
in these cages as I did in my normal
wooden cages. However, this was
mainly down to the performance of
the Fiorino’s as I had three pairs in
the wire cages and they bred very
well raising a total of 14 chicks from 3
pairs which is more than I had from all
my other pairs of Lizards!
I like the cages and think they have a
lot of advantages over the wooden
cages, but there is a few things I
would like to change with them. The
positive for the wire cages for me are:
the plastic tray on the bottom of the
cages which can easily be cleaned
and washed out. The seed hoppers
I also like as they are held in place
by a wire door and they have
a small perch on the front
which means the birds
are not standing on the
floor while feeding so
their feet keep cleaner.
The cages I have are
coated in plastic
so they can
be wiped
down and
they do
not rust.
BIRD SCENE 13

Birds I’ve bred in wire cages:
Non capped Gold Lizard
There are a
number of companies
now selling them in
the UK so there must be
demand for this type of
cage. So I decided
to try a few out for my
breeding season.
The negatives, are the doors are
small, well for my hands they are
small anyway. This also meant that
the nest pans I had originally wanted
to use would not fit through the door.
Although the pans I did get for these
cages I did like. My birds seem to be
very flighty in these cages which I
found strange as I would have thought
they would have been steadier. The
14 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
cages also were singles so you could
not separate the hen and cock if I
need to, you had to remove the cock
totally.
I had two blocks of 4 cages which I
put together and due to this I placed
a sheet of board in between the two
blocks so the pairs in each cage
could not see each other which would
probably cause the pairs not to bond
properly and would probably disturb
each other. I have been looking for
wire cages that meet all the factors
I would like and as of yet I have not
found any. And I don’t want to buy
cages that are not what I really want.
But I am still looking!!
I will carry on using these cages next
season as I think the experiment is
still not fully completed. So watch out
for part three in 2015.
I had two blocks
of 4 cages which
I put together and due
to this I placed a sheet of
board in between the two
blocks so the pairs in each
cage could not see each
other which would probably
cause the pairs not to bond
properly and would
probably disturb each
other.
BIRD SCENE 15

So at the end of last breeding
season I decided I was going to
revamp my bird room, and in this I
would replace my wooden cages.
The question was with what?
Birds bred in wire
cages: Crested
Fiorino owned by
Mrs Bolton
Trial - Part 3
This is the final part of my trial of wire
breeding cages.
I have made the choice not to go for
any more, but what else then?
And why you ask?
I will try and explain my reasons,
I knew what I wanted from a wire
breeding cage but I was unable to find
one the fulfilled all my wishes.
Also I found the birds were more
flighty in the wire cages than in
wooden cages which seemed strange
to me, as I would have though it would
have been the other way. But it was
not.
I looked at plastic breeding Cages,
but a friend had some and was
not happy with them pointing out
the problem he saw with them, so
I had to look at some thing else. It
looked like I would be going back to
wooden cages, but which ones?
Then I came across some cages
made of UPVC, these would be
washable and would not require
painting, and they had removable
trays which my current wooden
cages didn’t have. But they were
only available in doubles. I took
the plunge and brought 8 double
breeders which would go along the
back of my revamped bird room.
The bird room revamp involved
lining the whole bird room out with
insulation board, then papering it
with lining paper which was then
painted in a light colour. Carmel
Cream which was left over from
decorating my house.
This was all done in less than a
week, and I am happy with the
result.
16 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
My new cages arrived on the Friday
and were in place a day later,now we
just need to have a good breeding
season.
So to sum-up wire cages, I am
pleased I tried them out but they just
didn’t seem to suit my Lizards. I know
many use them with great success on
the continent, maybe the weather has
a effect on this I am not sure.
I have still retained the cages I
brought and am using them to breed
my Fiorino frill’s in.
So this concludes my wire cage
trial, I would not say it was a
complete failure, but I think I am
more comfortable with the box type
breeding cages. But I am glad I tried
them because if I hadn’t I would
always wondered about them. I must
say though because they didn’t suit
me it doesn’t mean they will not suit
you and your birds. I think it always
worth trying different ideas, and
thinking out side of the box.
Also I found the
birds were more
flighty in the wire
cages than in wooden
cages which seemed
strange to me, as I would
have though it would
have been the other
way.
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BIRD SCENE 17

I am Brotogeris obsessed! They are awesome birds
and this is my short story with them.
My title is half stolen from the only book I know
on these birds, ‘Grey Cheek Parakeets and other
Brotogeris’, written by Robbie Harris from the US. I
often revert back to it for odd things about my own
18 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
COBALT-
WINGED
PARAKEETS
AND OTHER
BROTOGERIS
MIKE ROXX
Mike Roxx
BIRD SCENE 19

birds. I find it quite amusing looking
at all the 1980s pictures; all the birds
then were wild caught. A little tip:
you can pick this book up dirt cheap
online. I only wish there were more
books on these little beauties….
My first sightings of Brotogeris
parakeets, affectionately also known
as Brotos by keepers, were in the mid
80s in our local dealer’s aviaries in
Barnham, Sussex. I remember seeing
these green parakeets flying from one
end of a long flight to the other; often
there were a few flights full of them
with their yellow wing flashes catching
the eye. I wasn’t into parrots at all
then; my eyes were firmly fixed on the
canaries and finches especially the
British finches. I am still into the other
birds; however, Parrots and Parakeets
have become my focus since 2010
when I visited the Peruvian Amazon
and saw Brotogeris in the wild.
20 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
Amazon encounter
It was amazing – I would see them and
many other parrots every day just like
seeing sparrows and starlings here.
I was on a tropical fish collecting trip
as was heavily into my Amazon fish
as well and I wanted to catch them
in their native habitat, plus I have
always wanted to cruise on the mighty
Amazon River and its tributaries so
it was a dream trip. As luck would
have it the tour guide was a big bird
watcher so once he learned I was into
my birds he would always be pointing
out the different species. We saw
many every day from just cruising
the river, hearing them in the jungle
at the side of the boat and hearing
them come over our heads in fighter
plane style formations. This is second
time I saw Brotogeris and from where
my real love of them came. As they
flew overhead they were really quite
noisy but maybe not as noisy as the
BIRD SCENE 21

Ringnecks in London! The guide
would crane his head skywards as
you heard them in the distance and
scan with his binoculars and shout
“Canary Wings”, “White Wings”
or whatever they were. Often you
wouldn’t need the binoculars as they
would come so close overhead you
could see with the naked eye the
wing flash.
On this trip I also saw Brotos in the
markets for sale in tiny cages for
next to nothing. It made me sad and
I really wanted to take them with
me. I know it’s not possible and you
shouldn’t encourage the locals but
if I could have brought them home I
think my heart would have ruled my
head. I wondered what life they were
headed for.
I also had one very lovely positive
experience with a local person
and her pet Canary Wing. We were
wandering another local market and
I spotted it sitting on the vendor so
I made a beeline for them. I asked
about the bird and seeing my interest
she invited me around to her side of
the stall She lowered her arm onto
my arm and this amazing little bird
just ran down her arm and onto
me, then it climbed onto my
shoulder and sat there happy
as a happy Canary Wing
can be!
22 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
…seeing my
interest she invited
me around to her side
of the stall She lowered
her arm onto my arm and
this amazing little bird just
ran down her arm and onto
me, then it climbed onto my
shoulder and sat there
happy as a happy
Canary Wing can be!
BIRD SCENE 23

That was it, I was hooked. After lots
of cool playing time with this little guy
and questions about this bird and
others in broken Spanish and English,
I knew in my head I would find out
more about Brotos when I got back
home.
Breeders in Europe
Unfortunately the situation with
Brotogeris in the UK is they are
virtually non-existent. The same is
true in Europe and the US. Apparently
before the import ban some Brotos
were quite common which must be
why they were always in my local
dealer’s flights. It’s strange that in
the US Plain Parakeets are virtually
non-existent and Cobalts are rare;
it’s a complete reversal on these two
species’ availability in Europe. I was
gutted I could not locate any here
in the UK so I turned my attentions
towards Pionus and from there a big
24 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
love and respect has grown towards
these awesome parrots which I now
breed as well.
But back to the Brotos… I was living
in Germany for a while and, when
looking through a popular bird selling
site from the Netherlands, I saw an
advert for Brotogeris cyanoptera
or Cobalt Winged Parakeets.
I messaged the seller
immediately and found out
these were four siblings,
all male and hand reared.
I knew that Brotos make
amazing pets from US articles
online and my own little ‘live’
experience. I consider myself
half pet owner and half
breeder so this was perfect; I
always like to have hand reared
birds as I like the interaction
with the birds. I have heard some
breeders don’t like HR birds for
breeding but my experiences have
been nothing but positive.
I quickly found out from breeders
that Cobalt and Plain Parakeets are
the only Brotogeris available freely.
Four other species are available but
very rarely and also for much higher
prices. I don’t know of any breeders
in the UK but that doesn’t mean there
aren’t any.
BIRD SCENE 25

My PR pair laid
their first egg in
early February 2016 and
three more followed, each
a couple of days apart. I
had got them in October
so was quite happy they
were feeling comfortable
enough to settle and
breed.
I arranged with the Belgian breeder
to save one for me while I planned a
trip, and as luck had it a few days later
another advert appeared again from
Belgium with many young for sale. I
found out this breeder was breeding
with five pairs of Cobalts so there
were plenty on offer from him as he
has much success in breeding them
every year. I asked for three birds, one
male and two females to make myself
two pairs with my HR male.
When the trip came around it was
fascinating to see how the Belgians
were keeping their birds. I picked up
the three first; they were the parent
reared so were a little nervous. This
breeder could not speak any English
and was not internet savvy so his
friend who had lived and worked
in England when he was younger
26 BIRD SCENE

translated all. Then I set off to collect
my HR male. This breeder had only
one pair of Cobalts but many other
parrots of different species. I’m not
sure why he chose to HR these birds
as it didn’t seem his normal practice
but it could be that the parents
stopped feeding the babies or some
other parent issue as this happened
to me on my first brood I bred.
Personal experience breeding
So I had my two pairs. At first they
were absolutely fine together in one
cage. I had only open fronted cages at
first but I now prefer all wire cages as I
prefer to clean them and you get nicer
views of the birds all the time. After
a few weeks it was obvious a pair
had formed between a pair of the PR
birds; my HR male was a year younger
so he was lower down the pecking
order. They didn’t really fight being all
together but they did get boisterous
when piling into the box that I had
provided at night time. I did want to
breed them so I decided to split them
in the hope that the pair bonds would
form better.
My PR pair laid their first egg in
early February 2016 and three more
followed, each a couple of days
apart. I had got them in October so
was quite happy they were feeling
comfortable enough to settle and
breed. The HR male who I named
‘Charlie’ would regularly spend a bit
of time out of his cage playing and
exploring, and he very quickly got
used to me after being a little nippy
at first. Apparently Brotos don’t
generally breed in their first year so
I was not expecting Charlie and his
girl to breed. I was hopeful as the
female was a year older than him, but
it wasn’t to be their year.
It was obvious about half way through
incubation that one of the eggs was
infertile and I proved it by candling
them. Three eggs hatched in the
order that they had been laid, a couple
of days after each other. It was a
proud and pleasurable moment for
me hatching my own baby Brotos.
The young grew at a rapid rate and
the parents fed them well. I wanted
them to carry on with their parents
BIRD SCENE 27

as I hadn’t been planning on hand
rearing these. However, maybe a
week or so before fledging, I started
to notice that the babies’ heads
were being plucked and their crops
were no longer full. I quickly topped
them up with some hand rearing
formula which was easy as I had not
long reared a nest of Bronze Winged
Pionus so everything was ready. I
fed them for a couple of days before
deciding enough was enough; their
heads were getting very patchy and
no parent food was arriving at all,
plus I was worried the parents might
turn on them completely. So the hand
rearing began proper. They were
fully feathered at this point and were
jumping around everywhere so I put
them in a cardboard box like their own
nest box into a makeshift Brooder
with no heat as they clearly weren’t
in need of extra heat, but at night I
did put them in a warm room just for
comfort.
28 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
These were great little parrots to
HR and in a few days they were
flying around the room. I put them
in a metre long wire cage a week or
so after removing them and they
seemed happy as can be exploring
everything I put in that cage for them.
They also learnt to feed themselves
within a couple of weeks and were
soon enjoying the fruit/veg/pulses I
feed to the adults the pulses I only
feed during the breeding season. I
also introduced them to P15 tropical
pellets by Versele Laga, which again
all my adults get, and they had great
fun with these as toys and food. I do
sometimes feed a parakeet mix but
not as a main food.
This year I added some extras to
the birds’ feeding regime. I know
the Birdcare Company’s reputation
is second to none and wanted to
try their ‘Potent brew’ as another
breeder highly recommended it
for top breeding results. I phoned
the company and they suggested
something different: ‘Super
Max Breeder’ which is a powder
supplement given 6 weeks before the
breeding season and ‘Super Feast’
which is an egg food with prebiotic
herbs and mixed with honey – it’s
lovely and moist, and also smells
great. I started feeding these during
the breeding season so a bit late but
so far it seems good. I don’t know if
BIRD SCENE 29

the supplements really make a great
difference but I am happy to add
them knowing they are a nice additive
to their diet. The Super Feast has
replaced my old ‘not so interesting’
egg food mixture and there is no need
for extra calcium as it is also included.
It’s all a little bit more expensive from
the Birdcare Company but I believe
I am giving my birds the best I can
get and I will continue using these
products. A tip for buying from the
Birdcare Company is to buy from
them at the shows as their goods are
always discounted there!
I thought the parents may want to
nest again which would explain the
pulling of feathers from the babies’
heads but once the babies were
removed they didn’t show much
interest in breeding. The babies were
a noisy little rough and tumble crew
between the three of them and when
let out to fly always followed each
other around the room calling to each
other.
In late 2016 I moved back to the
UK. It was while moving an accident
happened and the parents and two
babies escaped from their travelling
cage. Something had moved in the
back of the van and dislodged a door
slightly even though I had taped all the
catches shut. It was just enough for
them to squeeze out and escape while
the van was being unloaded without
me seeing. The first baby was still
sitting in the cage looking confused.
30 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
They stuck around the trees in the
area for a day and the mother actually
returned to her cage which I left
outside on top of the other pair’s cage
so the sounds would draw them in.
Unfortunately after that day I never
saw the father or two babies again but
was thankful that the mother came
back.
I hope they survived at least a while,
enjoying flying free; we have feral
Ringneck parakeets so who knows. I
did put them on the lost register but
no luck.
The mother and son lived quite
happily together for about six months
until I arranged another trip back to
Belgium to get another unrelated
male bird from the breeder with five
pairs. He also had a young female
of 2016 to go with my young 2016
male as it turned out. So now I could
make up three pairs of Cobalts. I
had also managed to source a pair
of Brotogeris tirica or Plain parakeet
(badly named I feel); this was a 2016
male bred by the breeder I was
visiting. He had also swapped a bird
for me from a fellow breeder so made
up the pair with a 2014 female. As I
write this pair are going through the
motions of breeding; they are in the
box lots during the day and chewing
the box itself, other pieces of natural
bark and offcuts of soft wood pit
inside for them. But with the male
being a 2016 bird I am unsure if he is
still too young to successfully breed…
we shall see.
Back to 2017 and so far my HR male
‘Charlie’ and his partner have had a
successful clutch of four babies which
are just about to fledge. The original
mother and her partner might have
been paired too late to breed this
year but are making some interesting
moves; again, we shall see.
My HR young male is a great little
character and often comes out of his
cage to play; I like to keep him tame
BIRD SCENE 31

and Charlie when not breeding. I feed
them little sunflower heart treats on
top of the Tiricas’ cage as is a handy
perching area. The Tiricas have taken
much interest in this little Cobalt on
their cage and keep a close eye on
all he does, so much so that when
feeding him I tried feeding them from
my hand. It worked and after only a
few attempts I can feed them from my
hand through the bars of their cage
or put my hand inside and feed them.
I can’t do this with any of the other PR
Cobalts so have to assume that they
have made a direct link to watching
me feed my little male.
I am planning to add more Brotos to
my collection later this year if I can get
in a trip to Europe.
The great thing about my second
trip to collect birds is I met the Tirica
breeder Jaak.
I have kept in touch with Jaak
regularly due to us sharing a deep
passion for Brotos. He has all the
species apart from the two very
rarest: the Golden winged and Tui.
However, he has had Tuis in his
collection twice. He keeps the Cobalt,
Tirica, Canary winged, White winged,
I often wonder why
Brotogeris aren’t kept
more everywhere but
especially in this country.
I wonder is it because
they are a base colour of
green with next to no
mutations?

FEATURE
I have kept in touch
with Jaak regularly due to
us sharing a deep passion
for Brotos. He has all the
species apart from the two
very rarest: the Golden
winged and Tui.
Orange chinned and Grey cheeked.
He has had articles published in
Belgian magazines on his birds and
he has translated them into English
for me, and now I have asked him for
permission for them to be printed
here in the PS magazine.
He also briefly told me his story of
why he keeps and specializes in
Brotos. It was a great little story so
I asked him to write that for the PS
magazine to follow my story with
these fascinating parakeets.
I often wonder why Brotogeris aren’t
kept more everywhere but especially
in this country. I wonder is it because
they are a base colour of green with
next to no mutations? The only couple
of pictures I have seen of mutations
were on Facebook and I don’t know
where they originate from but they
are certainly not established. For
me if it was a choice of being more
popular with mutations or as they are
now I would keep them as they are. I
don’t want to see mutations spoiling
this great genus of birds like they
have spoilt many others. Wild natural
colours always please!
I would like to find out if there are any
UK based breeders as so far I have
only found two pairs of Grey cheeks
that were imported from Loro Parque,
kept for a few years by two keepers
for four or so years then moved on
out of the country. If anyone does
keep any or is seriously interested in
keeping these great little characters
do get in touch - you can contact me
via the PS where Les will pass on your
details or I have a bird page on www.
facebook.com/newworldbirds1
DONATE TO OUR
CONSERVATION
FUND…
GO TO:
WWW.THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG
BIRD SCENE 33

BY LES RANCE
34 BIRD SCENE

THE
NATIONAL
EXHIBITION
2024
We are making steady progress with the run up to the
2024 National Exhibition to be held on Sunday 6th
October at Stafford County Showground. Long-term
bird enthusiasts will remember The National Exhibitions held at
The Birmingham NEC and run by Cage & Aviary Birds prior to
2003, yes twenty-one years ago! The Parrot Society decided in
2007 that we would try to rebuild the event at Stafford where we
hold our successful hobbyist breeder Bird Sale event in October.
BIRD SCENE 35

It was an excellent decision and
the event has gone from strength
to strength. Please remember that
The National Exhibition for the
Exhibition of Show birds is held in the
Sandylands Centre and the Argyle
Centre. We use these same Centres
for our Help Bird Keepers Shows.
A large number of hobbyist-bred
stock always finds new homes
from the buyers who come in large
numbers to our events. The National
Exhibition is the leading and most
popular bird show held in this country
for hobbyist bird breeders, not just
because of the sales tables but
also the Exhibition that is held in
the Argyle and Sandylands Centres.
There is something for everyone
available from the 60+ traders who
so generously support this event,
especially from our sponsor Johnston
& Jeff Ltd the leading UK seed
supplier.
This year Chris Smith our National
Exhibition Co-ordinator has written
the following to Show Secretaries.
‘Dear all
Hope you are enjoying a good
breeding season with many potential
winners coming through.
I have received a number of requests
to bring forward lifting time at the
National Exhibition to 3pm rather than
3.30pm and I would be grateful if you
could discuss this request with your
club show committee and let me know
your club’s view by the 16th June.
I will report the agreed time back to
you so that you can include it in your
show schedules.
Les Rance at the Parrot Society
has agreed to allow club officials
and stewards (with wristbands and
badges) into the hall on Sunday
morning at 6.45 am and to allow
exhibitors (with wristbands) into
the hall at 7am. Exhibits will also
be accepted on Saturday evening
between 5pm and 7pm as usual.
Adam Raine (Fife Fancy) will be in
charge of the best canary and best
exhibit judging from now on, best
canary judging on the Old Varieties
judging stand at 1pm, and best
36 BIRD SCENE

exhibit judging at 2pm same
stand. Security of the birds whilst
judging was discussed at the recent
Canary Council AGM with many
participating canary clubs present.
It was agreed that each canary
section would nominate a steward
from their section to be responsible
for their section exhibits to and from
the best judging stand. Names of
the nominated steward should be
forwarded to me with your entry
numbers prior to the show , I will
compile a list to give to Adam at the
show .
The NCA has agreed to fund £600
prize money again this year which
will be distributed across the five
exhibition sections as last year.
Please let me know your preferred
lifting time.....3pm or 3.30pm????
Should wish to discuss this
further with me or raise any
other points then please do not
hesitate to email or call me on
07851 528752
Regards Chris Smith
National Exhibition
Co-ordinator’
BIRD SCENE 37

This last year the exhibition in the
Argyle and Sandylands Centres
was again organised with the
assistance of the 18 clubs that
support this event and it continues
to receive plenty of entries, may
this be the case for many years
to come. These enthusiasts work
so hard to construct the staging
from mid-day on the Saturday
and take in many entries in the
late afternoon and Saturday
evening. This judged event will be
as popular as ever in the future,
with many high-class birds on view.
At this year’s event a crystal glass,
rose bowl has been donated by
Johnston & Jeff for best bird in
Show and by The Parrot Society
for the best junior exhibit, their
generous donations for these
valuable awards is always very
much appreciated. Cage and Aviary
Birds give the Exhibition a special
38 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
supplement in their publication so
that all their readers are aware of
which clubs to contact to enter their
exhibition stock into the Show.
Again, Neil Randle our magazine
designer took over a 1,000 images
on the day so that we have plenty of
images for the next twelve months.
Please do enjoy the pictures on the
following pages. In 2024, the Show
will be held on Sunday 6th October
and will follow similar lines to the
2023 event but more use will be made
of the Prestwood Centre to house
the stands of such supporters as
The Australian Finch Society, The
Bengalese Fanciers Association, and
The Waxbill Finch Society. Within the
two exhibition halls, there is always a
great buzz of chatter and excitement,
it is a pleasure just to stand there and
absorb the environment and listen
to people enjoying themselves and
promoting their hobby.
BIRD SCENE 39

Sick and
unhealthy birds
usually don’t breed
and if they do the
chances of infertility
are usually
high.
40
BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
CONQUERING
EGG
GREG SHAW
INFERTILITY
Infertility in parrots and cockatoos is something we all have
experienced at one time or another in our aviaries. It always
seems to happen with that special pair of very expensive birds
that we have so wished would breed for the last couple of years.
The eggs are laid we wait with anticipation and excitement then
we candle them to check that they are fertile and then realize the
bad news, that they are not. Disappointment is something none
of us enjoy dealing with infertile eggs are just par for the course
people say. But surely we should be questioning why we have a
clutch of infertile eggs?
PART ONE
Every pair of birds of a particular species is unique to some
extent. Just because several pairs find a particular situation
acceptable does not mean that every new pair will also
react in the same way. We all need to take the trouble and know
our birds, watch, try and understand what makes them happy and
what upsets them. Nine times out of ten, unhappy birds don’t lay
fertile eggs.
BIRD SCENE 41

In the wild most birds are opportunistic
omnivores they eat almost anything
available. This type of natural diet is
impossible to replicate in captivity
although many aviculturalists try their
best to achieve something similar.
One of the most common problems
with an inadequate diet is
reproductive failure and infertility. But
in order for us to overcome this, we
need to know more about the foods
we feed to our birds. Some foods
promote fertility while others inhibit it.
It is up to all of us to know which foods
are good promoters of fertility and
which are bad.
A common problem when
breeding birds, especially
Psittacidae (true parrots) and
the Cacatuidae (cockatoos), is
infertile or unhatched eggs. There
can be several different reasons
for this to happen, incompatible
unbonded pairs, immature birds,
disease, illness, bacterial infection
and even something as simple as
loose wobbly perches, preventing
successful copulation. If the perch
is loose and wonky the male can not
make good contact with the female
during mating resulting in infertile
eggs.

FEATURE
My PR pair laid
their first egg in
early February 2016
and three more followed,
each a couple of days apart.
I had got them in October
so was quite happy they
were feeling comfortable
enough to settle and
breed.
Strangely enough, the causes can
be very simple to remedy. Birds
copulate between the laying of every
egg, and therefore a mistake can
be the cause of one or two infertile
eggs in each clutch. An interesting
solution, designed by Mr Perry
Webb, an aviculturist in South Africa
is to provide the birds with a solidly
fixed mesh mating platform that is
positioned in front of the nest box
and over the closest perch. This
platform provides a stable gripping
substrate for both the hen and cock
to achieve balance during copulation.
A worthwhile, inexpensive fixture to
any breeding aviary.
Long, sharp toenails can also cause
infertility. If the cock has a habit of
placing his foot on the side or back
of the hen before copulation, he
may irritate her with his pointed, pin
BIRD SCENE 43

sharp nails and she may not accept
copulation at that time. A simple cut
and file is all that it takes to prevent
this problem.
An infertility problem may also just
be that the birds don’t get it right on
the first attempt this is usually the
case with a young maturing pair that
is attempting to breed for the first
or second time. Birds do not always
reach sexual maturity at the same
time. Some are very late developers,
with either the males or females
maturing faster. The hen may begin
to lay eggs before the cock has
come into breeding condition — both
birds need to be sexually mature
for fertile eggs to be laid. Delaying
egg laying by late installation of the
nest box or boarding up the nest
entrance temporarily until fertility is
accomplished may be the best way to
deal with this timing issue.
44 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
Younger pairs may also need more
stimuli to breed. Older experienced
birds will start breeding much
more readily and usually go to
nest at a similar date as they did
the year before. The inexperience
and ignorance of a young pair of
birds often contributes to infertility
resulting in a clutch of clear wasted
eggs. Mistakes are made in courtship,
mating and nesting. Style and
successful copulation improves with
age, eventually they will get it right. In
this case removing the nest box for a
couple of weeks and letting the pair
rest then placing the nest box back in
the aviary and letting them try again is
all that it takes.
Sick and unhealthy birds usually don’t
breed and if they do the chances of
infertility are usually high. Internal
Papilloma Disease causes wart-like
protrusions from the vent area of both
male and female birds, often resulting
in infertility. In severe cases, an avian
veterinarian can burn off and remove
these warts, allowing the eggs to be
fertilized. This disease may still be
carried by the parent birds and the
pair should not be allowed to hatch
and feed their young. Instead eggs
removed from these pairs can be
given to foster parents or incubated.
Alternatively the female may have
blocked tubes, ovulation problems, or
Sick and
unhealthy birds
usually don’t breed
and if they do the
chances of infertility
are usually
high.
a hormonal imbalance. The male can
have a low sperm count or immature
sperm incapable of fertilization.
Marginal illness in either the male
or the female can be responsible
for infertility. If the female has laid
several clutches of infertile eggs in
succession, she is probably well. The
male should therefore be examined
by an avian veterinarian to eliminate
illness as the cause of the problem.
Some mature breeding pairs fail to
produce fertile eggs, clutch after
clutch, year after year. Often when
this happens we start playing musical
parrots and start swapping the
cock birds around and around. This
seems to be a trend in South African
aviculture but it can also be a quick-fix
made out of desperation which does
not always bear fruit. It may result in
some success but it is not the best
way of solving the problem. Are we
BIRD SCENE 45

46 BIRD SCENE
doing a clever thing by splitting up
well bonded pairs particularly if
the split up pair can still see
and hear one another from
another aviary? Often the
birds sit and scream across
to their mate showing no
interest in the replacement
partner. Although there
are a few exceptions,
parrots and cockatoos
are monogamous, taking a
long time to get a cock and a
hen to truly bond — why undo
all this hard work by playing the
musical parrot swapping game.

FEATURE
Birds are what they eat. Food choices
and diets matter when it comes to
a mature breeding pair producing a
fertile clutch of healthy eggs what
we put in is what we get out. Could
the solution for clear infertile wasted
eggs, lie in the food dish? Nutrition —
feeding the best balanced diet to your
birds, is fundamental for good health
and efficient aviary management,
especially if fertile, healthy, breeding
birds are your goal. In the past there
has been very little scientific, dietary
research done on nutrition for birds.
There is now far more information
on nutritional diets available that
promotes longevity and sustained
reproductive success in aviary birds.
Infertility is caused by relating to the
physical, nutritional, environmental or
social aspects of the bird’s life. If all
the criteria in each of these areas are
met, success is assured.
Parrots and cockatoos vary from one
species to another as to how well they
deal with their diet and excess fat.
They also differ and vary as to which
part of their body will accumulate
their excess fatty deposits. Fat birds
are not healthy birds and unhealthy
birds usually are not productive
fertile birds. The two areas where
fat deposits are most likely to cause
Infertility is caused
by relating to the
physical, nutritional,
environmental or social
aspects of the bird’s life.
If all the criteria in each
of these areas are met,
success
is assured.
reproductive problems are the hips
and lower abdomen. This problem
is usually much more common in
mature adult males than in mature
adult females. Male birds that have
fat deposits in this area will have
trouble copulating and fertilizing a
female successfully. Fat deposits can
severely limit agility and movement.
The birds need to be kept athletic
and healthy. Fat birds become
handicapped and lose interest in sex
because they are either too physically
disabled to do the deed or because
they are too lazy to bother trying. The
only remedy is a good healthy diet
change. It can be as simple as cutting
down on cheap fattening sunflower
seed and replacing it with less
fattening safflower seed, or a high
carbohydrate, low fat slimming diet,
necessary to shed those unwanted
fatty deposits. Continued in the next issue…
BIRD SCENE 47

FIORIN
FRILLS
CHRIS SMITH
I
first saw Fiorino canaries whilst judging Fife Fancy in Italy in
2005 and 2006 in Bologna and Rome. I became really taken with
them at the 2009 World Show in Piacenza, Italy, where nearly
27,000 exhibits were on show with large classes of Fiorinos.
The Fiorino is about the same size as the Fife Fancy, very active
and as jaunty as the Fife but with voluminous, silky frills. The
added benefit is that you can show these birds in the standard
Dewar show cage, so no added expense in purchasing new show
cages. Though I think when shown in the frill cage they tend to
exhibit more boldly on the top perch.
Being a relatively new breed I decided to do a little research
on them and frill canaries in general. For whatever reason frill
canaries have never become popular in Britain and did not merit
a mention by eminent Victorian writers on the canary fancy, many
48 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
O
BIRD SCENE 49

of whom composed
quite comprehensive
works on the subject.
It is believed that the
frill mutation, which
affects the formation
and the unusual
disposition of the
feather, is said to have
occurred in Holland in
the early 1800s.
They were then known
as “Dutch canaries”
until such time as
local varieties were
developed around
Europe and given
separate names,
e.g. South Dutch or
Parisian Frill.
The Fiorino is the
youngest member
of the frill family
of canaries. It was
created in Italy in
the 1970s around the city of Firenze
(Florence) from which it takes its
name.
Champion breeders began by
breeding a small North Dutch frill to a
Gloster corona.
From these crosses and by the use
of inbreeding the new Fiorino frill
variety was created. The breed was
distributed further to interested
breeders and with more inbreeding
the curling of the feather and size was
improved.
50 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
The Fiorino is the
youngest member of the
frill family of canaries. It
was created in Italy in the
1970s around the city of
Firenze (Florence) from
which it takes
its name.
In the beginning the Fiorino was
a fairly large bird and controversy
developed between breeders over
the pattern of frill, type and size of
the bird. By 1982 meetings between
the various groups had established
a temporary standard and this was
accepted by the Confederation
Ornithologique Mondiale (COM).
Today’s Fiorino is a 5” small frill family
bird with specific type and curling
of feather. It comes in a crested and
plainhead form and has all the usual
BIRD SCENE 51

There are three areas
of the body where specific
forms of feathering are given
a distinctive name.
The feathers on the back are
divided by a central parting
running downward from
between the lower
shoulders to the lower
back.
variety of colours for type canaries.
It is a small bird of somewhat North
Dutch appearance, although it has
a smaller body and the crest on the
crown of the head distinguishes it
from the North Dutch.
There are three areas of the body
where specific forms of feathering
are given a distinctive name. The
feathers on the back are divided by
a central parting running downward
from between the lower shoulders to
the lower back. The frilled nature of
the plumage results in the feathers
curling forward over the shoulders
and wings, symmetrically on each
side, rather like a cape. This feature is
called the “Mantle”.
The breast feathers, instead of running
smoothly down the length of the body
in the normal way, curl forwards and
upwards over the breast bone and
towards the throat like a ring (collar)
around the neck. The curly feathers
on the breast form a kind of frilly shirt
–front with a collar, which all together
is known as the “Jabot” or “Craw”. A
bunch of feathers just above each
thigh, curls outwards and upwards in
a sweeping fashion around the wings.
These frills are called the “Fins”
or “Flanks”.
The Kernow Old Canary Breeds
Enthusiasts Club has given permission
to reproduce the standard (see page
50) and a scale of points is shown.
52 BIRD SCENE

Like the Fife Fancy size is important
and birds exceeding 130mm should
be penalised on the show bench.
Importance is given to the head and
the neck, the crest should radiate
from the centre forming a tight circle
with the eye still visible. The plainhead
should have a clear head free from
any signs of a crest. The fins, mantle
and jabot have equal points but the
emphasis is on symmetry, and frills
should be voluminous, full and curling.
Non frill areas should be smooth and
clean. Points should be deducted for
missing fins, skewed mantles and
unsymmetrical frilling on the jabot.
I acquired my original stock from
two English breeders and my good
Fife friend Werner Van Dessel from
Belgium and in 2010 bred 39 chicks
from eight pairs. I was fortunate to
acquire a self fawn plainhead cock
The breast
feathers, instead
of running smoothly
down the length of the
body in the normal way,
curl forwards and upwards
over the breast bone and
towards the throat like a
ring (collar) around
the neck.
and a clear white cock along with the
normal green variegated birds, and so
was able to breed a number of good
white ground youngsters.
During the show season I took a team
of up to ten each time to four major
shows Winning Best Fiorino on each
occasion and best rare canary twice,
at South Bucks All Canary Show
and the All Variety Canary Show
at Peterborough with a variegated
white crest and a variegated green
plainhead as pictured.
In 2011 I raised 29 chicks and have
had a superb start to the season
winning Best Fiorino and Best
Champion Rare Canary at the National
Exhibition at Stafford with a green
variegated crest, pictured. I have high
hopes for a little buff lightly variegated
hen and a self fawn hen which are
just finishing the moult. I have sold all
my surplus birds to a number of local
breeders so we can build up a gene
pool and exchange stock in the future.
Recent breeding seasons have not
been as good with only one clear
Plainhead cock produced in 2014. But
this year has got off to a great start
with ten Fiorinos weaned on the first
round and hens sitting on more eggs
for the second round. Cannot wait for
the National Exhibition in October.
BIRD SCENE 53

MANAGING SUNFLOWER
FOR A HAPPY AND
HEALTHY PARROT
We all know parrots love sunflower seeds. They’re high in energy, fats and
carbohydrates which are essential nutrients for parrots. However, some
birds can become addicted to sunflower, too much of which can cause
problems such as, a vitamin A deficiency or lymphomas. At Johnston & Jeff,
we first developed two specialist blends that are rich and nutritious, right for
the particular species but low in sunflower.
Low Sunflower for African Greys
We then devised our Parrot Lean &
Fit blend, which contains no
sunflower seeds and no nuts and is
perfect for parrots that require a
lower energy or maintenance diet.
It also allows you to feed nuts and
sunflower seeds separately as a
treat or even a training aid, without
adversely affecting the diet.
Low Sunflower for Large Parrots
Parrot Lean & Fit
Please note, Johnston & Jeff’s foods are only available through retailers or online. Please contact us
to find your nearest stockists or for more information.
Johnston & Jeff Ltd.
Baltic Buildings, Gateway Business Park, Gilberdyke, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU15 2TD
T: 01430 449444 • E: mail@johnstonandjeff.co.uk • www.johnstonandjeff.co.uk
Johnston & Jeff Ltd @johnstonandjeff @johnstonandjeff