A team of Maltese cage bird breeders won 15 medals in the Bird World Show held in the city of Matosinhos in Portugal, last month.
The Maltese bird breeders competed with others from 16 countries and over 19,359 birds were exhibited.
The 19 Maltese breeders participated with 44 colour canaries, five type canaries, 44 greenfinches, six hawfinches, two siskins, two cobalt redpolls, two housesparrows and two parrots. All these birds were bred in Maltese aviaries.
Sergio Ebejer won a gold medal, two silver and two bronze medals with colour canaries. Paul Magri won two gold medals with fife fancy canaries. Mark Scicluna won a bronze medal with a fife fancy canary, Arnold Powell a gold medal with a greenfinch cock, and Stephen Grech a bronze medal with a cobalt redpoll. Roderick Abela won two silver medals with a team of greenfinches and a team of hawfinches, and one bronze medal with a hawfinch cock. Mark Amaira won a bronze medal with a team of greenfinches and Saviour Persico won a gold medal with a parrot.
Although the Maltese breeders usually win one or two medals, this is the first time that the Maltese amateurs under the guidance of the Maltese Bird Breeders Association, achieved such good results abroad. The association hopes that the breeders improve their performance in the coming years.
The BBA was founded in 1982 and today has over 400 active members.
The Malta independent online
