A Colombian bird breeder oversees dozens of birdcages, with birds inside, in his shop in the bird market in Cartagena, Colombia, 6 December 2018. Keeping caged birds in houses, a habit widely spread across all social classes on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, has a strong tradition and it dates back to Spanish colonial times. Birds of all species have always been kept in cages for one reason: the bird’s singing. Those birds which can be taught to sing complex harmony lines, and thus...
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A Colombian bird breeder oversees dozens of birdcages, with birds inside, in his shop in the bird market in Cartagena, Colombia, 6 December 2018. Keeping caged birds in houses, a habit widely spread across all social classes on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, has a strong tradition and it dates back to Spanish colonial times. Birds of all species have always been kept in cages for one reason: the bird’s singing. Those birds which can be taught to sing complex harmony lines, and thus win popular bird singing competitions, are highly treasured. Although domesticated birds form a significant part of the Caribbean bird breeding culture, the wild songbirds (Colombia has the greatest bird diversity in the world) are frequently trapped in the wild and sold in bird markets.
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