A bird singing contest is a

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

s, usually caged examples of wild species. Such contests are held in at least 22 countries of the world, and at least 36 different species are used in this way. The practice is particularly widespread in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, where it increases trade in songbirds and may contribute to the decline of threatened species.

Americas

The bird singing contest is a popular sport in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, while in Brazil singing contests featuring the

chestnut-bellied seed finch The chestnut-bellied seed finch (''Sporophila angolensis'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, but was until recently placed in Emberizidae. It is found widely in shrubby and grassy areas in tropical and subtropical South America. It ...

(''curió'' in Portuguese) are held.

Asia

Southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

, it is a common sight to witness the elderly people bringing the cages of

Chinese hwamei The Chinese hwamei or melodious laughingthrush (''Garrulax canorus'') is a passerine bird of eastern Asia in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. The name "hwamei" comes from its Chinese name , which means "painted eyebrow", referring to th ...

to the local parks to enjoy their singing. In Japan, there are nationwide societies to exchange information on improving singing of the

warbling white-eye The warbling white-eye (''Zosterops japonicus'') is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. The specific epithet is occasionally written ''japonica'', but this is incorrect due to the gender of the genus. Its native range includes much of ...

and other birds. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, hundreds of songbird competitions are held all over the country every year. In

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, bird singing contests are also held frequently.Bird Singing Contest in Thailand. Red-Whiskered Bulbul Singing Competition. Merbah Jambul (YouTube)
/ref> The practice of wild species caged in is particularly widespread in Southeast Asia, where it increases trade in songbirds and may contribute to the decline of threatened species.

Europe

In Belgium,

vinkensport ''Vinkensport'' ( Dutch for ''"finch sport"'') is a competitive animal sport in which male common chaffinches are made to compete for the highest number of bird calls in an hour. Also called ''vinkenzetting'' ("finch sitting"). It is primaril ...

is a contest of how many

bird calls Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs (often simply ''birdsong'') are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs (relatively complex vocalizatio ...

are made per hour by

chaffinches The Eurasian chaffinch, common chaffinch, or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The femal ...

References

{{reflist, refs= Benjamin H. Mirin, Holger Klinck (2021)
Bird singing contests: Looking back on thirty years of research on a global worldwide conservation concern
''Journal of Global Ecology and Conservation''. 30 (October 2021): e01812. {{doi, 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01812. .n. (8 December 2021)
Bird singing contests: A clash of culture and conservation
''ScienceDaily''. Accessed July 2023. Birds in culture Animals in sport *

Americas

Asia

Europe

See also

References