“Life on the ledge” shouts our front cover this week, and we discover that there’s never a dull moment with Britain’s own penguin lookalike: the cliff-nesting guillemot. Stars of a select few bird collections, guillemots dive to forage with enviable freedom, and then defend a breeding territory that’s only inches wide, on their packed breeding cliffs. With most cage birds, of course, such overcrowding is avoided, and elsewhere we have a refresher on good practice in the budgie birdroom. We have a photo-essay on a brand-new mutation of the goldfinch, catch up with zebra finch matters, and review old and rare canaries at a recent top show. Waterbirds, a regional round-up and loads of club news also feature.

“Life on the ledge” shouts our front cover this week, and we discover that there’s never a dull moment with Britain’s own penguin lookalike: the cliff-nesting guillemot. Stars of a select few bird collections, guillemots dive to forage with enviable freedom, and then defend a breeding territory that’s only inches wide, on their packed breeding c....