Bird Scene Spring 2024

BIRDISSUE 62: SPRING 2024
SCENE
CAPE
DOVES
LES RANCE
JAVA
SPARROWS
ANDREW DUTTON
CANARY
BASICS -
PART 1
THE CANARY
COUNCIL
THE LATE JERRY FISHER
FOREIGN
BIRD KEEPING
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CONTENTS
06
40
48
16
24
06
16
24
40
48
CAPE DOVES
Les Rance
Java Sparrows
Andrew Dutton
Canary Basics - Part 1
The Canary Council
Foreign Bird Keeping
The Late Jerry Fisher
National Exhibition
2024
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FUND…
G O TO : W W W . TH EP ARRO TS O C I ETYUK . O RG
BIRD SCENE: Issue 62: Spring 2024. Cover Picture: Village Weaver
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
In the introduction
to the spring 2023
issue of Bird Scene
I wrote ‘This winter
does seem a little
colder than last year
and in addition we
are having to be
very careful with the
amount of electricity
that we use due to
the massive increase
in costs compared
to 2022. All I can
say is ‘roll on spring’
and hope that it is a
warm spring, which
encourages our birds
to start to breed.’
In comparison,
the winter of
2023/2024
generally has not
been too cold but
we have certainly
been receiving much
more rainfall than we
had last winter, with
rain arriving from
across the Atlantic
BY THE EDITOR
LES RANCE
WWW.THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG
LES.RANCE@THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG
on a regular basis and many areas of the
country receiving two and a half times
the normal rainfall for February. Many
residential areas have been flooded and
fields are suffering, with much damage to
winter wheat crops. We are also starting
to see reductions in the cost of electricity
as the wholesale price of gas reduces,
long may this trend continue!
In this issue, we have an article about
Cape Doves, an excellent article by Andy
Dutton on Java Sparrows, Breeding
for Pleasure V Breeding for Exhibition,
Canary Basics written by The Canary
Council and finally an article on Foreign
Bird Keeping by the Late Jerry Fisher,
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 with whatever species
of birds you currently maintain. This is
now the sixty-second edition of Bird
Scene, how quickly twelve and a half
years can pass when you are working on
a project – the first FREE on-line bird
magazine produced in the UK. At 48
pages, this is quite a big read! Every time
04 BIRD SCENE

we post the Parrot Society monthly
magazine, I cringe at the cost. Postal
costs appear to have increased far
faster than inflation and if The Royal
Mail are not careful they will find that
their income will reduce even further
as people and businesses send less
and less by conventional means. A
price increase to £1.25p for a First
Class letter became effective on 2nd
October 2023. Whatever happened
to the Penny Black, if my maths are
correct we are now being charged 300
times the cost when the first letters
were delivered! With CPI, inflation now
running around 4.9%, costs continue
to rise. In fact, food inflation is at
February 2024 4.9%, where will it all
end. These costs obviously affect bird
clubs when the show schedules have to
be posted to potential exhibitors and
equally it affects the exhibitors when
they return their entries. In addition,
how much longer will bird
clubs be able to afford to
post magazines to their
members? This must be
a great worry to many
club officials.
Fortunately,
with an
e-magazine
we do not
have this
48
problem, or for that matter the cost of
colour printing. Because of increases to
the costs of both postage and printing, I
am pleased that we decided to produce
Bird Scene as a FREE e-magazine. We
have learnt a great deal over the past
nearly twelve years about this way of
communicating with bird enthusiasts
and I am sure that this knowledge will
become more and more valuable as we
see further increases in costs to paper
magazines. 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 (Covid-19 restrictions excepted)
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.

BY LES RANCE
CAPE
DOVES
The Cape Dove (Oena Capensis) was a bird regularly imported from
its native Africa and very few breeders considered the need to set
up a captive bred aviary strains whilst imports were available to
meet the demand, prices were low and there seemed no real reason
to breed these delightful, colourful doves as imports were quite
readily available. All that has now changed, unless aviculturalists
0 6 BB II RD SS CC EN E

FEATURE
B I RD S C EN E 0 7

I have chosen
the Cape Dove
because my good friend
Jerry Fisher on the south
coast introduced them to
me and encouraged
me to work on this
species
really work hard to establish birds
that were previously imported in large
numbers there will be none of them left
in aviculture in a few years time. It is
now imperative that all those breeders
with experience with domesticated or
near domesticated birds work hard to
establish breeding stocks of birds that
previously were readily imported. We
all need to select one species and try
really hard to establish them. About ten
I had a pile of forest
bark next to a large
hazel bush the roots of
which had permeated the
bark pile, it was therefore
an easy exercise to pull
up a few roots and make
nice nests for the
Doves.
years ago I kept Diamond Doves and
bred a few of them so to a small degree
I did have some knowledge of this
family. I have chosen the Cape Dove
because my good friend Jerry Fisher
on the south coast introduced them
to me and encouraged me to work on
this species. In the spring of 2007 Jerry
supplied me with 3 beautiful young
unrelated pairs that I kept in a brand
new indoor aviary 8’L x 3’W x 6’H.
Cape Doves are easily stressed when
transported to new homes and within
a few weeks I had lost all three hens
(why is it that it is always the hens
that die?) After this disaster there was
obviously no point in keeping the three
cocks so I returned them to Jerry,
to say the least this was not a good
start!! Jerry continued to persevere
with his Cape Doves but came to the
08 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
conclusion that they really needed to
be in outdoor flights rather than being
bred in cages and in June when the
weather was much warmer contacted
me and asked if I would like to have
‘another go’, I thought that this was
very brave and I decided that I must
try again and use one of my parakeet
aviaries to see what results could be
achieved outside.
The day came when the two pairs were
due, as we live some 150 miles apart
I collected them mid-way in the early
evening, all four were in one box and
generally they were quiet but when I
hit a pothole in the road they would
crash about and become thoroughly
disturbed. Once home I let them out
into their outside aviary as it was
light until at least 9.30 p.m. in June.
Although built in a block there is a large
amount of privacy as most of the walls
are constructed with 3/4” plywood but
to provide them additional seclusion I
placed a 3’ container grown Conifer, a
Vibernum and six pots of runner beans
to climb up the former. To provide
nesting sites I screwed four wooden
platforms 6” x 6” with a half inch lip
around the edge, to the plywood wall.
I had read that they seem to like to
use fine roots as nesting material and
fortunately I had a pile of forest bark
next to a large hazel bush the roots of
which had permeated the bark pile, it
was therefore an easy exercise to pull
up a few roots and make nice nests for
the Doves. Evidently placing two pairs
in one aviary is generally not successful
as fighting frequently occurs but only
B I RD S C EN E 0 9

My efforts were
very quickly rewarded
as within two weeks
one of the pairs started
to show interest in each
other and there was a
fair amount of mutual
preening and sitting
close together…
one of my pairs seemed interested in
breeding and possibly that was why I
had no difficulties in that regard.
My efforts were very quickly rewarded
as within two weeks one of the pairs
started to show interest in each other
and there was a fair amount of mutual
preening and sitting close together,
then I saw the hen on one of the nests,
progress appeared promising! The
first egg was laid on 21st July and the
second the following day, they were a
rich cream colour and I candled them
after the hen had sat for 5 days, they
both showed that the vein formation
was developing so I speedily returned
them to the nest. The first egg hatched
on 4th August and the second on 5th. I
was aware from the excellent book by
I.S. Dyer “Breeding the Cape Dove: My
Experience” that around eight days of
10 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
age can be a critical time as the parents
can stop feeding the youngsters. On
12th August I was delighted to see
that my two precious babies were still
doing well and growing quickly, the
first left the nest on 20th August and
the second the next day. My aviary
has a wire floor ‘overhang’ for the last
3’ of its length and the two babies sat
on this and the mother joined them
sitting very close to keep them warm,
the temperature that morning was
only 13C which for an August day is
rather cold. Jerry Fisher warned me
that it is sensible to try to check that
the babies are drinking for themselves
two breeders have had this problem
once the young leave the nest. I took
a shallow bowl of water into the aviary
and simply picked up one of the babies,
there was no attempt from them to
fly away, it drank avidly once its beak
was placed in the water, once it had
consumed all it wanted, I then put it
down and picked up the second baby
and let that drink. On 28th August I
again caught my two birds and checked
them but they appeared not to be
thirsty. Although I mentioned above
that there was a 3’ overhang the total
flight size is 10’ long, 7’6” sloping to
5’6” high and 3’ wide and 7’ of the roof
B I RD S C EN E 1 1

Both young
developed well and
as the days shortened
and temperatures dropped
I carefully considered
if I should move all six
birds into heated indoor
quarters for the
winter.
is covered in glass-fibre roof sheeting
giving a very sheltered and protected
aviary.
Both young developed well and as
the days shortened and temperatures
dropped I carefully considered if I
should move all six birds into heated
indoor quarters for the winter. I would
have liked to leave them where they
were because they seemed very settled
and I know that they are easily stressed
when moved. I knew that what to do
would be a tough call but decided to
monitor them twice a day and if the
cold started to worry them I would
indeed move them into a heated
environment. The signs to look for
are that they will sit fluffed up, be
inactive and look generally miserable.
In late September these signs were
all too evident and I decided to
move them into a warmer and dryer
environment.
12 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
BIRD SCENE 13

Cape Doves seem a little
unadventurous as far as feeding is
concerned; their main staple is White
millet. Doves do not shell their seed
like Budgerigars; they swallow it whole
and grind it up in the gizzard. This
means there are no husks to blow
off the seed bowls. I provide 50/50
Budgie mix but I do not think that they
eat much of the canary seed in the
mixture, they will take millet sprays but
mine are not over keen. Germinated
smaller seeds are generally ignored
but I do provide them with home
made egg food which is prepared for
my parakeets, hard boiling 2 eggs
each morning and mixing them (shells
included) in a food processor with
200 grams (1 large cup) of Badminton
Baked Cereal (used as a conditioner by
horse owners). To this I am currently
adding a level tablespoon of Pet Chef,
to this dry mix I then add 1/2 a large
cup of water, this makes a nice crumbly
feed (be careful, do not add too much
water or you will get a wet horrible mix
that no birds will consume!) The 6 Cape
Doves received 1/2 a tablespoonful
of this mix each morning around 7.30
a.m. For those not familiar with Pet
Chef this is a supplement powder
designed to provide essential vitamins,
minerals, trace elements and amino
acids to ensure peak condition within
your stock; there are two formulas,
one for breeding stock which should
be provided 6 weeks before the start
of the breeding season and as long as
the season continues; and a general
purpose mix which has been designed
for the remainder of the year.
With any bird that is difficult to breed
and it appears that Cape Doves fall
firmly in this category, fostering
with a closely related
species needs to be
considered.

FEATURE
I continued to use the outside
parakeet aviaries in 2008 and 2009
but both these years were not
particularly good breeding seasons
and I was coming to the conclusion
that to make any real progress with
this species I needed some additional
stock as I was very determined to
be successful with Cape Doves, they
are beautiful birds but obviously
need a suitable diet and the correct
housing. In 2010 I changed tactics
and provided them with a fairly large
and dry indoor aviary measuring 12’
long x 4’ wide and 7’ high, this had a
double glazed window which I wired
over and could open on warm sunny
days giving the doves access to fresh
air and direct sunlight, a facility that
met with their considerable approval.
During the year I did not lose any
birds and bred 3 hens and 5 cocks
using the colony system with all my
stock in one large flight.
Jerry Fisher feels that DIET is
the key to success; some of the
supplements I use are different to
his. He uses iodised minerals – a
black powder that pigeon breeders
use with success. His birds (except
the group of cocks) generally refuse
his soft food mix - the only birds to
do so. Given that the only seed they
consume in quantity is white millet
he is wondering if we can develop a
base mix being mainly white millet
with some bonding agent to integrate
it with supplements. There is no
doubt that we need to broaden the
diet as much as we can and as we
do not know exactly what they eat
in the wild we can not imitate their
natural diet. I feed blue maw seed
and this they will eat so this gives
some change/addition to their diet.
So far the 2011 season seems to be
progressing well with 4 hens sitting on
8 eggs (2 is the normal sized clutch)
There is no doubt that Cape Doves
are very vulnerable and not easy to
breed, without concerted efforts they
may be lost to UK aviculture forever
or perhaps the opposite will happen
and we may be able to save them.
The Cape Dove is far from the only
bird to be in this position and the
next few years will be critical to the
existence of a number of birds that
were previously freely imported but
are now increasingly difficult to obtain
due to the lack of viable aviary strains.
I will certainly continue to work hard
to establish these birds in aviculture
and I will use all the relevant skills
that I have acquired over a number of
years with my parakeet collection, it
will not be a simple task but someone
has to do it!!
BIRD SCENE 15

By far the most popular choice is breeding for pleasure. Most
of the members of the JSSUK just keep their Javas for the sole
purpose of enjoying the sight of them in their cages or aviaries,
there is nothing wrong with this at all, as that is why we all
started keeping birds in the first place!
16 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
JAVA
ANDREW DUTTON
SPARROWS-
BREEDING FOR PLEASURE V
BREEDING FOR EXHIBITION
Keeping
Javas is not like
keeping other varieties
of birds such as budgies,
canaries and even zebra
finches. With Javas there
are no champions, novice
and beginner classes,
everyone is on the same
playing field.
BIRD SCENE 17

There are many advantages to
keeping Javas just for pleasure. There
is not as much stress involved with
the keeping and breeding of Javas if it
is just for your own pleasure. You can
have what ever colour mutations that
you want, you can pair them to which
ever mutation you want and you can
choose to breed throughout the year
at any time and not worry about what
colours you produce and the getting
them ready for the showing season.
It is my view that as well as doing this
it would also be a great benefit to the
hobby if people gave showing a go.
Showing is on the decline and all of
us in the hobby need to try and do
as much as we can to save it as it will
benefit all of us in the future.
There are
many advantages to
keeping Javas just for
pleasure. There is not as
much stress involved with
the keeping and breeding
of Javas if it is just
for your own
pleasure.
18 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
Keeping Javas is not like keeping
other varieties of birds such as
budgies, canaries and even zebra
finches.
With Javas there are no champions,
novice and beginner classes,
everyone is on the same playing field.
All you have is an Adult class and a
Current Year Owner Bred class. Here
at the JSSUK we are trying to keep
the Javas the same shape and size
that they are in the wild, that is why we
have a show standard to adhere to. If
you look over the last 10 years of the
society there have been 7 different
winners of the Best Java In Show,
there are no particular exhibitors with
outstanding birds winning every
year in year out. Every show you
attend you have a chance of
winning if you just put a little
extra effort in.
Keeping Javas for pleasure or
exhibition, you practically have to do
the same things anyway.
If breeding for exhibition you
obviously pair the best birds you
have together. You feed them the
best foods you can afford and make
sure they always have access to
B I RD S C EN E 1 9

If wanting to show your current year
birds you have to pair up your birds
early on in the year to make sure they
have come through the moult and are
in good condition for the shows which
usually start later on in the year. Also
you have to make sure they have that
current year ring on them, to show
them in that class. In the Adult class
you can show any java you like, rung or
unrung.
grit and clean water, to drink and to
bathe in. If keeping for pleasure, apart
from choosing your best birds to pair
together, you do everything else the
same anyway!
For those of you who are thinking of
giving showing a go in the future, you
would be better breeding your birds in
cages rather than flights. Not that you
can not breed great looking birds out
in the flights, it is just if bred in cages
they are usually more calm when you
introduce them to a show cage.
2 0 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
So please if you keep your Javas
just for pleasure, why not think of
just giving showing a go. Here at the
JSSUK we will only be to glad to help
you and get you started at giving
showing a go. Get in touch with myself
or any committee member via our
website or our facebook page and we
will be glad to help you.
At the shows you will meet lots of new
friends, who in the future you can buy
or exchange birds with to improve
your own stock. So come on, if you
are breeding just for pleasure at the
moment, why not breed for exhibiting
too ? What have you got to loose ???
The two most common questions
asked when people have purchased
Javas for the first time are what do I
feed them on and can they be housed
with other finches?
Well first of all regarding the feeding,
I give my birds a good quality foreign
finch mix and it goes without saying
as with all birds, they have access
to grit and fresh water. You can also
feed them a little greenfood, lettuce
or broccoli will be accepted and I also
feed mine a little budgie tonic seed
once or twice a week.
B I RD S C EN E 2 1

Also to get the birds in condition I
feed a little egg food which they really
enjoy. With Java sparrows, they are a
bird that likes to bathe a lot so I always
have a bath on the cage or in the flight
as they will bathe two or three times a
day, sometimes more.
Another food you can feed your
Javas, especially if in a mixed
collection with other finches,
are mealworms. Javas do love
mealworms which they will skin and
eat the insides.
Regarding the second question, can
they be kept with other species ? The
answer is yes, but keep an eye on them,
especially if they are kept in cages !
Some, but not all Javas sometimes
have a tendancy to bully smaller
finches, especially when kept in
cages. In aviaries because there is
more space and places to escapes to,
they do not seem to do this as much
and you can usually house Javas with
most other species. Just keep an eye
on them, especially when breeding as
22 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
bickering occur so you can obviously
house more birds together.
Javas will not tolerate other birds near
their nest box when eggs or young are
present.
When housing Javas in cages in a bird
room it is advisable to either house
them one pair to one cage or if not
breeding them then house just cocks
together and house hens together
in separate cages. This will stop the
cock birds fighting over the attention
to attract a hen.
In an aviary there is a lot more room
for birds to escape should any
If anyone requires any more
information onthe keeping of Javas
please take a look at our website or
Facebook page were there is a lot of
information available. Or if you are
attending the sales days at Stafford
or if you go to some of the CBS shows
around the country please look out
for the Java Sparrow Society stand.
There will be a few of the JSSUK
committee members on the stand
who will only be to happy to offer
any advise needed to anyone who
is thinking of starting with Javas or
anyone who already has them and just
wants some advise on anything Java
related.
B I RD S C EN E 2 3

CANA
24 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
BY THE CANARY
COUNCIL
The Parrot Society thank the
Canary Council for the right
to reproduce this excellent
article. The images have
been added to
enhance this
article.
I NTR O D UC TI O N
The information, which you will find
in this article, will be found helpful
whether you keep a canary as a
household pet bird or if you wish to
venture further into the breeding and
exhibiting of canaries.
This is not a specialist book about
any particular variety of canary. It is
recommended that those who do wish
to tum to breeding and exhibiting
should obtain a copy of one of the
many specialist books available, where
more detailed information will be
found about their chosen breed.
This article is purely to help those
interested in canaries, to understand
their requirements to be kept in a
proper manner. The Council hopes you
find the book answers some of your
queries and that your interest once
whetted, expands into the hobby of
keeping a stud of canaries.
RYB
A
S
I
C
S
PART ONE
B I RD S C EN E 2 5

HOUSING
The type of housing used for canaries
very much depends on why you are
wishing to keep canaries. If to be kept
purely as a household pet, the usual
type of all wire cage is preferable, but
even this is best to use the long type,
rather than the cylindrical style. This
gives the canary better room to stretch
its wings and take more exercise. The
cage should be placed in a draft free
position, possibly with one side near a
wall to give a little privacy and not in a
position to be caught in strong sunlight,
but in good daylight. This cage type is
suitable for a household pet but not for
the purpose of breeding canaries.
26 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
The usual type
of all wire cage is
preferable, but even
this is best to use the
long type, rather than the
cylindrical style. This
gives the canary better
room to stretch its
wings and take more
exercise.
For breeding, one can revert to
using either an aviary or the box
type cage. Where fully controlled
breeding is required to produce top
quality exhibition birds, the box cage
is the one usually used. This gives a
maximum amount of privacy for the
rearing hen. It is usually constructed
of plywood or similar material with
a suitable wire front, which can be
purchased in various sizes. The size of
the cage depends on what it is used for
and the particular breed kept. For the
smaller breeds such as Fife, Irish Fancy
or Gloster a cage 15’ high, 12’ deep and
18’ long will suit as a stock cage and a
B I RD S C EN E 2 7

slightly longer one or what is known
as a double or treble breeder for the
actual breeding. The larger breeds,
Yorkshire, Lancashire and Norwich,
require a slightly bigger stock cage to
enable the birds to spread their wings.
The aviary is used more for collections
of canaries particularly required for
purposes that are more ornamental.
However many fanciers use flights,
which are usually indoors, to house
birds between breeding seasons and if
not required for exhibition purposes.
With outdoor flights or aviaries it is
preferable if the roof and some of the
side area is protected from the worst
of our inclement weather conditions.
Plastic sheets are usually used for
this purpose, which also protect
the occupants from any possible
contamination from wild birds. To make
the aviary more decorative do not plant
up the interior as canaries will soon
destroy plants by pecking at them.
Preferably, plant outside the flight with
climbers such as honeysuckle, clematis
or roses, in fact anything, which will be
attractive and give cover but is not of a
poisonous nature. A shelter
should be attached to give
the birds a suitable roosting
area, free from draughts and
dry- canaries resent draughty and
damp conditions.
The floor covering used wherever
your birds are housed can vary
considerably. For pet birds the
sand sheets, which are easily
purchasable are generally
used. They are readily replaced
at intervals to keep the cage
clean and tidy. Outdoor flights
generally have fine grit or sand to
cover the floor area, but some have
just plain concrete base. Whatever
is used, the area must be kept clean,
so tended frequently. In box cages, a
number of materials can be used and
it is very much a personal preference
or what is easily available. Some use
coarse sawdust or wood shavings,
others sand or fine grit, while others
use paper- even old newspaper. They
all have their good and bad points and
it is your choice what you find best.
2 8 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
To make the aviary
more decorative do
not plant up the interior
as canaries will soon
destroy plants by pecking
at them. Preferably,
plant outside the flight
with climbers such as
honeysuckle, clematis
or roses…
B I RD S C EN E 2 9

Wherever you keep your canaries,
suitable perches are required. The
household cage is usually equipped
with either plastic or wooden dowel
perches. These do not give the bird
any real variety to exercise its feet
and a mixture should be fitted of
varying thicknesses, but do not overdo
the number of perches or your bird
will have no room to flit around. In
the aviary lengths of 12mm dowel
can be used, again preferably with
a mixture of a few natural twigs of
hazel or perhaps apple, in fact virtually
any deciduous twigs available. This
enables the birds to exercise their feet
and if placed at each end of the aviary,
plenty of flying room. Wood and/
or plastic perches are generally used
in box cages and again if possible of
varying thicknesses and placed at each
end of the cage.
many are so lucky. Usually they
are placed in an appropriate shed.
Whatever is used always be conscious
of good ventilation and light. As
mentioned earlier canaries do not
like draughty, damp conditions,
which will soon spell trouble.
Many fanciers who are deeply
interested in the breeding
of pedigree exhibition
stock go to considerable
lengths to get the
conditions right.
Special lighting
arrangements
and electric
For your box cages, you will
require somewhere suitable
to house them. For the
more fortunate it may
be a spare room
in the house
but not
Chickweed
3 0 BB II RD SS CC EN E

FEATURE
fans both utilized,
but while they
certainly help,
are not
necessary
to gain
success
with
canaries.
FEED II NG NG
Canaries are
known as
seedeaters so
wherever you
keep your birds,
their basic diet
will consist of a
good seed mixture
and clean water, but
they also require fresh
green food, especially
in the form of chickweed,
dandelion, lettuce, spinach
or chicory. When breeding a
supply of rearing (egg) food will
also be necessary.
Canary mixtures are readily available
but one can mix one’s own and a good
example is 6 parts plain canary, 2 parts
rape seed, 1 part hemp, 1 part Niger,
1 part teazel and 1 part linseed. This
should be fed as a basic diet, but some
fanciers prefer to feed a basic diet of 2
parts plain canary to I part rape and to
give a variety of other seeds separately
as a tonic or stimulant, particularly
towards breeding time.
GG REEN FO OO DD
Canaries will take a wide range of
such food and in greater quantity than
many small finches. As mentioned
these can consist of the usual garden
weeds of chickweed,
B I RD S C EN E 3 1

dandelion and shepherds purse but
also relish lettuce, cabbage etc. They
are particularly fond of a little sweet
apple, and even take a small segment
of orange and enjoy pecking away at
fresh carrot or swede.
S O FT FO O D
Another item of diet is soft food or as it
is sometimes referred to as egg or
rearing food. There are so many
proprietary brands available that it is
very much a personal choice which to
use. However if you only require small
amounts, say for a pet bird, you can try
mixing your own. The basis of all soft
foods is usually fine biscuit meal so
you can soon make your own by
crumbling any kind of plain biscuit and
then mixing in some hardboiled egg in
the proportions of about 3 parts
biscuit to I part egg. The egg should
be worked in to make the mixture
crumbly. The advantage of the
prepared foods is that they do not
tum sour so quickly as homemade egg
food and only require the addition of
a little water to make them usable.
Another soft food which can be used
is bread and milk, prepared simply by
3 2 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
soaking brown or white bread in a little
milk until the bread has absorbed all the
milk and sometimes sprinkled with a
little maw seed. The biggest
disadvantage of this feed is that it
quickly sours in hot weather so be
conscious about the quantity fed. None
should be left about surplus, particularly
overnight, and it is best fed in china or
earthenware pots rather than metal
ones because of possible chemical
action of the metal on the moist food.
GRIT
Seedeaters require grit to enable them
to digest their food correctly. This may
be supplied as coarse sand. Sea sand can
be useful as it has the added advantage
of being impregnated with salts. Suitable
grit can be purchased and can be fed in
small pots to keep it clean. This grit is
usually a mixture of limestone grit and
finely ground oyster shell.
A further addition while speaking of
grit is cuttlefish bone. It is the usual
practice to provide a piece of this
in each cage and let the birds help
themselves. It will be found that
their usage of it will vary, particularly
when hens are laying and later
feeding youngsters. Cuttlefish bone
is undoubtedly beneficial to the birds
and helps in supplying the minerals
required in forming bone and feather
growth.
BREEDING
Canaries being domesticated birds are
relatively easy to breed. Some breeds
more highly bred for show purposes,
may be a little more difficult than
others and would suggest that anyone
just starting should commence with
one of the easiest breeds and then
once successful, move on to the more
difficult breeds if required. Rollers,
Fifes, Glosters, Irish and Coloured
Canaries seem to be the easiest
but many fanciers will tell of their
successes with other breeds.
BREEDING CAGE
As mentioned under housing, canaries
can be bred in flights by putting in a
number of 4 birds. If using this method
be sure to put in more hens than cocks
as too many cocks can be aggressive
towards one another. Also, make sure
you supply more nest pans than hens
The basis
of all soft foods is
usually fine biscuit meal
so you can soon make your
own by crumbling any kind of
plain biscuit and then mixing
in some hardboiled egg in the
proportions of about
3 parts biscuit to
I part egg.
BIRD SCENE 33

also to prevent squabbling. These
should be well spread out about the
flight for similar reasons.
The usual method of breeding is to
use the box cage and this should be
as roomy as possible. For a pair of
canaries it should be at least 24’ long,
but many fanciers use what are known
as double or treble breeder cages.
These cages use dividing slides to
separate the cock and hen birds. The
double is used for a pair and treble
where a cock bird is used with two
separate hens.
Before placing your birds in their
breeding quarters, be sure to treat the
cages to a good clean and paint where
necessary. Make sure you also treat
against mite, red mite in particular.
During the warm summer weather,
they can rapidly increase and can ruin a
breeding season.
BREEDING SEASON
The normal breeding season for
canaries is from April to July and if
the birds have been properly fed and
prepared will be ready to lay in April.
Some breeders use artificial heat
34 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
and light to advance their breeding
programme but that is something for
the more experienced. From about
February the breeding pairs should
have that little extra in the way of food.
Besides their usual seed mixture they
should receive a little of the richer
seeds, Niger, hemp, teazel and linseed.
These are generally sold as Condition
Seed. They should also have a little
soft (egg) food as mentioned under
feeding. The frequency of feeding the
soft food should gradually be increased
until the birds are receiving it at least
3-4 times a week by the end of March.
As the various wild plants become
available, they should be freely given.
A few sprigs of young dandelion plus
the extra feeding in conjunction with
the lengthening hours of daylight will
gradually bring the birds into breeding
condition.
BREEDING CONDITION
There are no hard and fast rules about
when to start breeding as this depends
on the weather and condition of the
birds. Mild sunny days help to bring
birds into condition quicker than a
cold miserable spring. Canaries show
signs when they are ready to breed.
The cock birds will be in full song,
and will often pull themselves up into
strange distorted shapes. The hens will
be restless, hopping back and forth,
There are no hard
and fast rules about
when to start breeding
as this depends on the
weather and condition of
the birds. Mild sunny days
help to bring birds into
condition quicker than
a cold miserable
spring.
even squatting on the perches. She
will open and flap her wings, and pick
up oddments of uneaten green food or
any material she can find and carry in
her beak. These signs mean it is time
to introduce the birds to their breeding
quarters if not already in them and to
give them a nest pan.
NEST PAN
The nest pan can be earthenware or
plastic, purchased from a pet shop or
even a shallow 40-50mm deep wooden
tray with a perforated zinc base.
These can be lined with a felt lining
and suitable nesting material supplied.
All these can be purchased or you
may wish to supply your own - dried
moss and a little shredded hessian,
but beware of nylon material as this
can damage the bird’s legs and feet by
being entangled round them.
BIRD SCENE 35

The young
canaries hatch in
14 days and for the
first 24 hours require
little extra food as they
are still absorbing the
last of the
egg yolk.
Most canary hens readily build a suitable
nest but occasionally one needs a little
help. This can be achieved by putting small
amounts of nesting material into the
nest pan, and using a filament electric
light bulb to firm and shape the inside.
The hen will usually quickly build her
nest and next you can expect the eggs.
These are pale blue with brownish
markings and are generally laid one
each day in the early morning. A clutch
generally consists of 4 or 5 and the hen
will commence sitting after laying her
3rd egg. It is a custom amongst fanciers
to remove the first two eggs as laid,
replacing with dummy eggs. The two
eggs are replaced in the nest when the
3rd egg is laid. The theory is that this
ensures that the chicks will hatch more
or less together 14 days after the 3rd
egg is laid and will all then have an
equal start. However, this is not
imperative as the hen as explained
does not start incubating until she has
laid the 3rd egg.
Once the hen has started to sit,
she should be disturbed as little as
possible. Many fanciers separate
the cock from his mate at this stage,
hence the double and treble breeder
cages. This may be necessary if the
cock is inclined to be aggressive or
of an interfering nature. Because the
hen is now sitting she takes a great
deal less exercise so it is best to just
feed the basic diet until she is about
to hatch, when the rearing food can
be re-introduced. You may be able to
examine the nest to see if all is well
when the hen is off for food, but do
not disturb unnecessarily.
HATCHING
The young canaries hatch in 14 days
and for the first 24 hours require little
extra food as they are still absorbing
the last of the egg yolk. What little
they require will be provided by the
hen in the form of pre-digested food
from her crop. You should have kept a
careful record of when eggs were laid
etc., so that you know when to expect
the eggs to hatch. Quite often, a few
broken eggshells on the floor of the
36 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
cage will denote that all is well and that
the chicks have hatched. Only supply
a small amount of egg food, gradually
increasing as the days go by. A little
and often is the ideal way - two or
three times a day. At 2-3 days old some
soaked seed can be given. This can be
a special bought mixture or you may
try some of your own made up of black
rape, Niger and hemp. If soaked for 24
hours, strained and then kept warm
and washed daily, it will start to sprout
after 3-4 days. This is ideal to feed to
the birds After 7 days the chicks should
be flourishing, and if you wish to ring
them this, if not already done, should
be undertaken now or the chicks will
be too big to get the rings on. At 14
days, they should be feathering well
and now are at their hungriest. If the
cock bird had been removed he should
be introduced by now to help with the
breeding, in fact he may well take over
the entire feeding as the hen, turns her
attention to bringing up another family.
Another nest pan can be introduced
at the other end of the cage but some
hens are not happy with this and the
existing nest should be placed on the
cage floor and a new pan put in its
place. Do not forget some fresh nesting
material or the hen will rob the existing
nest or even pluck the feathers from
her young. lf the hen does start to pluck
her young there is only one course to
follow. That is to place the hen in the
other half of the cage and separate her
off with a divider, and allow her mate
with her for about 1 hour or so each
morning to enable him to fertilize her
second cutch of eggs. The rest of the
time, he should be with the 1st brood,
which should be ready to leave the
nest at about 21 days old. By then they
should be well feathered and able to fly
on to the perches. At around this time
avoid any disturbance of the nest or the
chicks are very likely to literary explode
out of the nest prematurely and will
not settle back in there. The parent
bird will continue to feed the chicks
even though they have left their nest.
Continued in the next issue…
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B I RD S C EN E 3 7

N SALE NOW! TICKETS ON SALE NOW! TICKETS O
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Admission price is £15. One child under 16 Free with
each paying adult. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.
Book online at www.thinkparrots.uk
10% of ticket sales donated to Parrot Conservation projects.
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Village Weaver
My interest in the hobby is as a foreign
bird breeder. Success is defined by
breeding a species in captivity and,
ultimately, by establishing a self-sustaining
population.
This branch of the hobby is subject to the
two major threats. Firstly, since 2006, the ban
on importation to the EU means that no new
species are available and many others are at
risk since self-sustaining captive populations
have not been established.
4 0 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
The young
canaries hatch in
14 days and for the
first 24 hours require
little extra food as they
are still absorbing the
last of the
egg yolk.
BY THE LATE JERRY FISHER
FOREIGN
BIRD
KEEPING
BIRD SCENE 41

Secondly, at the opposite end of
the spectrum, established species
are subject to domestication. This
happens when mutations begin to
appear, followed by “show standards”
at variance with the wild bird. These
start with colour mutations but
progress to encompass size, shape
and feathering. The species is “lost”
as a foreign bird when one can no
longer acquire visually normal birds
with confidence that they will breed
true.
This path of “development” is
typified by three stages. Firstly, colour.
Think Splendid Parakeet and Gouldian
Finch. Secondly size, shape and
feather structure. Think Budgerigar
and Australian Zebra Finch. Finally,
a domestic species – think various
bantams (Jungle Fowl) and Aylesbury
Ducks (Mallard).
Practically every
species of foreign
bird (in either of the
above categories) has its
devotees who would be
anxious to acquire pure
normals if the birds
were available.
Developing, breeding and showing
these birds is a different and perfectly
legitimate branch of the hobby. What
foreign bird breeders object to is the
visually normal birds are seldom pure
i.e. can be relied upon to produce
wild-type young. Our ability to obtain
a visually normal Budgerigar or
Australian Zebra Finch in terms of
Red-bellied
Fire Finches
4 2 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
size, shape and feather is long gone.
There are of course many species
which fall somewhere between these
extremes. With some established
species mutations exist but with care
genuine normals are still available.
With still more species it could be
entirely practical to “breed back” over
a few generations. Regarding species
not yet established, the rocketing
prices of the remaining birds are
concentrating minds wonderfully –
and often there are more surviving
birds countrywide than you might
expect.
Which brings me neatly to the
purpose of this article!
Practically every species of foreign
bird (in either of the above categories)
has its devotees who would be
anxious to acquire pure normals if the
birds were available. It is also my
experience (with Diamond Doves and
Spectacled Parrotlets among others)
that if you advertise for people holding
the species you get responses from
successful breeders worried about
inbreeding but either not able to find
other breeders or concerned about
introducing mutations via visual normals.
With Parrotlets there is also concern
about hybrids due to the similarity of
the hens of some species.
To take one example, last summer
I realised that (with the exception
of Celestials) parrotlets generally
seemed to be offered for sale less
frequently. An article (“Where are all
the Parrotlets?” Sept 2010) in the
Parrot Society magazine generated
a response for Spectacled Parrotlets
B I RD S C EN E 4 3

Black-throated Finch
alone that resulted in birds being
exchanged for new blood, pairs
being made up and surplus birds
being placed. As a result I now have
contact with a small group of people
who between them hold a potentially
viable group of Spectacled with
reasonable genetic diversity.
There are no formalities to the
group – the only commitment sought
is that they offer surplus birds within
the group before disposing of them
elsewhere.
The formation of groups like this
could well make the difference in
maintaining some species in captivity
and in other species the existence of
“ring-fenced” groups of normals. The
various specialist societies (Parrot
Society, Australian Finch Society,
Waxbill Society etc) have a role to play
in signposting enquiries – for example,
someone looking for Normal Bourkes
Parakeets would contact the Parrot
Society for a referral to someone
holding such birds. Likewise, this
4 4 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
I now have
contact with
a small group of
people who between
them hold a potentially
viable group of
Spectacled with
reasonable genetic
diversity.
Diamond
Dove
BIRD SCENE 45

magazine could have a potential role
in listing the societies and making
people aware of how to go about
locating specific birds.
In fact, both the Parrot Society
through their office and the AFS
through their RADS + scheme already
perform this function.
Of course, this system is far from
perfect but it has the advantage of
no formalities – I simply “talk birds”
to people a couple of times a year
or when I have a specific enquiry. In
my experience most bird keepers
are happy to do that! If the end result
works for even a few species it will be
well worth the effort.
For the record, the species I am
currently working with are:
Violet-eared Waxbill
Endangered in Captivity
Cape Dove / Spectacled Parrotlet
/ Green-rumped Parrotlet / Yellowfaced
Parrotlet
Ring-fenced Normals
Diamond Dove / Bourke’s Parakeet
The birds I deal with are not always
species I hold – mine is simply a postbox
function.
If this “system” is to work, it needs
people prepared to dedicate a little
time and effort to a species they
care about. For a modest input you
could make a real contribution to your
hobby.
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4 6 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
BIRD SCENE 47

THE
NATIONAL
EXHIBITION
2024
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. It was an excellent decision and the event has gone from
strength to strength despite Covid-19, which had a large impact
on many events and general living.
4 8 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
B I RD S C EN E 4 9

As the 2020 National Exhibition had
to be cancelled due to Coronavirus, I
was pleased that we managed to run
a National Exhibition in October 2021.
In many ways, Covid-19 is starting to
become a distant memory for many
of us. Now that we can hold shows
again at Stafford, 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. The
date of the next National Exhibition is
on Sunday 6th October 2024.
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
5 0 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
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 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
B I RD S C EN E 5 1

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
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.
5 2 B I RD S C EN E

FEATURE
B I RD S C EN E 5 3

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Baltic Buildings, Gateway Business Park, Gilberdyke, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU15 2TD
T: 01430 449444 • E: mail@johnstonandjeff.co.uk • www.johnstonandjeff.co.uk
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