Included in my response to such approaches is the recommendation that the beginner should try to get a hold of Best in Show by Gerald Binks. It has remained my main source of reference throughout my progress through the various sections. Breeding Championship Budgerigars . I frankly expected this new book to be an updating of Best in Show , and was pleasantly surprised to be proved wrong. Gerald Binks has started afresh, and produced what best deserves to be described, as an encyclopaedic work.
Several chapters provide beginners with succinct advice.
The author displays the ability to take a broad view, intermingling his own experience with that of other experienced breeders. What moves the book up a gear, is its willingness to include, and its treatment of, subjects such as faults, pairing to win, a visit to the Mannes stud, and judging classes, with the reader invited to participate. The section on faults is superbly illustrated by the use of plasticine models. These were my favourites but other readers may choose the extensive colour identification guides or the sections on breeding problems, and how to solve them, or diseases. My abiding memory is the author's obvious delight in exploring ideas and imparting knowledge.