Sorry for the extra "click" above, but the link was embedded. I thought it was worth an extra click to give you, dear reader, an idea of the sounds one hears at a bird singing contest such as the one we attended yesterday. Believe it or not, these songbird contests are serious business here in Indonesia! Owning and training songbirds is a very popular hobby here, and one that can prove quite lucrative. Yesterday as we were driving past the park near where we live, we noticed this contest going on so we had the driver stop so I could attend my first ever songbird contest.
judges walk slowly under each cage, scoring each entry
orange-headed thrush (punglor)
bird owners cheering on their contestant
I was surprised to see how very competitive these events are! Not only are the birds competing but their owners are as well. With cash prizes at stake, bird hobbyists take the acquiring, raising and training of their birds very seriously. It appears to be mainly a man’s sport (if you will) as all the bird owners appeared to be male, as there were few if any females in the crowd. The birds are hung in close proximity under an open arbor of sorts. As the birds sing, the judges walk beneath the cages (each cage is numbered) listening carefully to the quality of each song and scoring them in various ways. All the while, the birds owners are waving their arms wildly, whistling and making all kinds of sounds and movements to encourage their bird to sing louder. Once the judges have tallied the votes, a flag is placed on the ground beneath the winners cages. Then the birds are removed and covered (which quiets their singing) and the next contest begins.
the little songbird himself
contestants and owners wait while not competing
The contest we watched was the orange-headed thrush, a species known generally across Indonesia as the punglor or cerbang. This bird is much larger than a canary and has an orange head, breast and underparts. His wings, back and tail are gray with whitish parts on its wings. Although the punglor is quite beautiful, its song is what makes it so desirable. And they also perform the “drunken dance” which is characteristic of the breed. The bird spreads his wings a bit, and shakes his head to the left and right, a movement people liken to that of a man affected by too much liquor. The bird appears to me to be in some type of trance as it sways back and forth on its perch, wings and head down. It’s actually quite funny to watch.
cages under wraps while awaiting their turn
One article I read estimated that 95% of this particular species comes from Bali. Farmers have learned the value of these birds and are harvesting the two day old chicks from nests found in coffee and salak (lizard fruit) plantations to supplement their income. According to another article, tens of thousands of these chicks leave Bali each harvest season. Of course there is some concern that they will become extinct.
As a competitive singer, the orange headed thrush has it all. Besides its beauty, it boasts a beautifully varied song and the ability to incorporate song phrases from other species. With training it can sing non-stop for 25 to 40 minutes in close proximity with 20 or more other dominant males. (I’ve noticed this with my own birds – the males compete to see who can sing the loudest!)
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