What's in the issue

What happens when zoo birds escape and nest in the wild? Some simply fit in without problems. For our cover bird, the ruddy duck, it’s been a different story since it was found that cross-breeding with a rare European species might have serious effects. Yet the ruddy is an absolute charmer, as our story makes clear. Apart from that, we’re long on information and short on controversy: we learn about changing from wooden to wire budgie cages, get the inside story from a top Bengalese stud, look back at the Stafford sale, and look forward to the breeding season in British finches. Plus: which bird most often gets mistaken for a tree stump? The answer is on page 16!