What's in the issue

Opposite to Britain in so many ways is Japan, and that certainly applies to its stunning birdlife – there are so many more bright and spectacular species. Some of them are known to foreign birdkeepers, whereas others have never been bred here. This week C&AB offers a taster of Japan’s sumptuous birdlife, from waterfowl to songbirds, from a two-week visit to that country by editor Rob. And we don’t even mention the cranes! More familiar yet equally exotic are the Gouldian and Bengalese finches that we also focus on, along with Border canaries, the science of urban birds, the joys of diversified birdkeeping, and some unashamed nostalgia about the hobby’s past and that of this paper!