How do you save rare wild parrots that are threatened by the illegal pet market? Answer: take eggs of those parrots from the wild under licence, rear the chicks and sell them once fledged on the legal pet market. That will then drive down the market price, reduce demand and curtail the temptation to poach wild birds. Drastic, isn’t it? But it’s been tried and, as we report, there’s some evidence to show that it can work. Also with parrots, we learn how smart management can help juvenile birds do some of the hard yards towards successful breeding. Talking of breeding: we round up the colourful UK softbill scene this month and find out how Andy Johnson’s getting on with his first ever greenfinch and bullfinch pairs. We meet the fabulous francolin family, get on the trail of glorious wild redstarts, and check out some lovely lesser-known canaries. Finally we learn how to combat that insidious problem: feather dust in the birdroom.

How do you save rare wild parrots that are threatened by the illegal pet market? Answer: take eggs of those parrots from the wild under licence, rear the chicks and sell them once fledged on the legal pet market. That will then drive down the market price, reduce demand and curtail the temptation to poach wild birds. Drastic, isn’t it? But ....