A platform for community, a pleasurable pastime, and continuity in tradition: songbird competitions in rural Kelantan prevail, even as their impact on wild birds is unclear.
Text and Photos by Mukhriz Hazim
Published: 8 May 2025
Counting how many times birds sing in 13 seconds is fun for bird owners, but these ‘marathon’ competitions are endangering the Red-whiskered Bulbul.
OUTSIDE a birdcage repair shop in Kota Bharu, Kelantan is an open space with several metal stands. During the day, these metal stands are used to hang bird cages, dozens of them. They belong to different owners, who leave them at this shop while they are at work.
It turns out that this is a ‘songbird daycare’, not just for any bird but the Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus). Popularly known as Merbah Jambul, the birds are beloved pets and need regular sunlight, so their cages must be hung outdoors.
Growing songbird ownership, enabled by weak laws, is pushing Oriental Magpie-robins into cages – with growing concern over wild populations. A co-publication with Dialogue Earth.
THE ORIENTAL Magpie-robin’s melodious song, once a staple of Malaysia’s forests, is being silenced by the weight of a booming songbird trade. Demand is both domestic and from Indonesia, and enabled by gaps in Malaysian laws.
Known in Bahasa Malaysia as Murai kampung, the Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) is listed as being of Least Concern in terms of its conservation status.
But thousands have been seized by authorities in Malaysia since 2020, due in part to missing documentation required for exports, and to curb the spread of disease, among other things.
