Pecking order takes over with bird singing mania

By Ridlo Aryanto

YOGYAKARTA (JP): With their beautiful plumage and the sound of their voices, birds have fascinated people through the ages.

Today, bird singing contests have become the rage in this city, and for the hotel industry it means business, too.

Owners of the birds often name them after famous figures -- movie stars, TV soap opera actors, athletes or even national heroes.

"Ayu Azhari, keep on singing ... Come on, please don't stop! Gusti Randa, don't stay silent. Come on, you're as good as Ayu!" cheered bird owners in support of their pets during a recent contest.

On another occasion, a frustrated contestant blurted out, "Stupid judges. They know nothing about birds, otherwise this Rp 27 million bird would have been nominated."

What was the matter?

"This is an imported 'Hwa Mei'. I bought it in Taiwan and brought it here myself," said Ricco emphatically while pointing to the cage occupied by the benign animal.

Ricco, who comes from Jakarta, was ousted from the competition in the qualifying round.

The winner in the turtledove category of the contest was Punglor Kembang, owned by Roni Akas from Surabaya.

"Before the contest, someone offered to buy this bird for Rp 300 million, but my boss would not let it go," said Riyanto, a bird-keeper for Akas.

"Now that it has been judged a winner, it could fetch an even higher price."

Riyanto said his boss has a collection of hundreds of "champions, worth billions of rupiah.

How do bird owners decide the worth of a bird?

"There is no fixed criterion to determine the price of a bird," said Among, who is chairman of the Yogyakarta-based Kutilang Foundation.

"But a common yardstick is that the more often a bird wins a contest, the higher its value.

Sometimes if the buyer is really fond of the bird, the price becomes ridiculously high, he said.

"Among turtledove lovers, for example, the first winner of a national contest may fetch a price of over Rp 1 billion," Among said.

He advised first-time buyers to get a young bird from bird breeders, which have increased in numbers in recent years..

An untrained canary ranges in price from Rp 150,000 to Rp 250,000, while a young turtledove whose mother is a contest champion costs between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million, he said.

"Of course, you can get cheaper young birds at traditional bird markets. Some are available for between Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000."

In the canary class Ayu Azhari won first prize.

Owner Anton Yuwono was all smiles as he took the winner's trophy. He said he knew this winning bird would fetch a price of Rp 12 million.

When someone offered to buy Ayu for Rp 8 million, Anton flatly rejected the offer.

"Well, the winner must be worth more than that," he said while carrying his canary into an air-conditioned car.

Cheerful

No less cheerful was Hary Sasono, the marketing manager of Ambarukmo Palace hotel.

"Some 130 bird-owners bring in, on average, 10 birds of various categories, and over 40 will stay at our hotel," he said, "the revenue from these events are usually quite good."

He added that some of the well-off clientele from Tasikmalaya, Bandung or Jakarta usually stay in middle or economy-class rooms.

"They usually pay between Rp 175,000 and Rp 225,000 a night, a special rate that we give the organizing committee," he said.

He said that from this event the hotel could expect to cash in Rp 15 million.

Even so, the hotel occupancy rate was lower this year compared to the previous year. "This year we have agreed with LKMI to organize the event once a month. Last year there was a bird contest virtually every week and between 70 and 100 bird-owners stayed at our hotel," he said referring to an association of bird-owners.

Last year, there was barely a Sunday without bird contests being held in Yogyakarta arranged by various organizations such as PBI, LKMI, the Indonesian Turtledoves League.

They call themselves the cooing mania community, or the Putro Mataram Fans of Turtledoves.

Cages

An expensive bird needs an expensive cage, and cage vendors flock to the contests.

Agus Budianto, a birdcage maker from Banjarsari, sells a birdcage made of fiberglass decorated with images of folk story heroes like Lorojongrang, Jayengrono or the monkey god, Sun Wu Kung, at prices ranging from Rp 1.8 million to Rp 2.5 million.

"The price may double if the cage is made of old teak wood with fine finishings," said Agus who, besides peddling birdcages, is also a participant in the bird-singing contest.

"My bird failed to win in the contest but I have sold five cages and will take home Rp 10 million," he said cheerfully.

Beside birdcages, bird food can also be good business.

Hartono Purnomosidi, a producer of bird food from Surabaya, said he could sell 180 tons of packaged bird food every month.

"Well, I get over Rp 900 million," said Hartono, who is also a singing bird fan and regularly participates in bird contests.

Contestants, therefore, are apparently lured by profit in addition to spiritual satisfaction.

"But, please remember that success does not fall from the sky. The high value of a bird is the fruit of hard work. Few bird- owners are aware of this," said Among.

What is the response from Yogyakarta's tourist industry?

"We are aware of the potential for the tourist opportunity to be opened up by such bird-singing contests but it is difficult to establish coordination with various organizations of bird fans as they have different demands," said Mariam, head of public relations for Yogyakarta's tourist office.

"Limited funds have prevented us from holding a comprehensive event. If the organizing committees involve us in the events, we would be happy to lend a hand. We could, for example, locate a better site for the contests while providing additional entertainment," she said.