Villagers make a living from singing birds

Agus Maryono and Mamock Ng, The Jakarta Post, Purwokerto, Central Java

The chirping from various birds perched on a big tree formed a melodious chorus, undisturbed by the tiptoeing of a boy behind a nearby tree beside the Serayu River in Banyumas, Central Java.

Motionless, he stared up at the birds.

"I'm afraid the birds that are already close to the cage will fly away if they see someone below them. I'll lose my catch," said Teguh Supriyanto, 13, who wore a nasty expression when The Jakarta Post approached.

What was he doing there? Why was he spending hours in such a place?

Teguh, who dropped out of school in his fifth year, is one of dozens of people who make a living by catching singing birds along the river bank.

Though the bird makes big buck, it is unclear as to why such activities are allowed in this area.

Like many other bird-catchers in the area, Teguh uses simple equipment: A small cage with a singing bird as the bait inside, and some tree sap. The sap is taken from certain kinds of tree, such as the jackfruit or benda, which produces sticky liquid like glue.

"This is a trap," Teguh explained.

The way he caught the birds is quite unique, and so simple that it requires no expertise. What it takes is only extra patience, of the type needed when going fishing.

After finding the right location, usually in a wood or in a yard with many trees that have become the home of singing birds, Teguh would choose a tree from which to hang his cage with a bird inside. After the cage was hung, he would smear the branches near the cage with some tree sap.

"Then, you just wait underneath the tree," he said.

He put a bird in the cage to attract other birds so that they would come closer and get caught in the trap.

"Listening to the chirping of the bird, others that were perching on the tree would probably approach the cage. Once they had perched on a branch already smeared with some tree sap, they would get stuck."

Once a bird was caught, Teguh would immediately climb the tree to get it. He would clean it with water or cooking oil, being careful not to squash the bird.

"I must be careful to try and avoid the feathers touching the sap because if they get damaged, the price drops," added Teguh, who would sell his catch at a bird market in Purwokerto.

He said that the type of bird he caught depended on market demand. The kind of bird placed in the cage as bait needed to be of the same type as the bird he wanted to catch.

"If there is an order for a kutilang (thrush), I'll put a kutilang in the cage and I'll look for a spot where many kutilang are found," he said.

Teguh said he had been interested in birds since kindergarten. At that time, he said, he would play with many birds, not just singing birds.

He became serious in birds and they became a commodity for his business three years ago. Despite his long experience, Teguh said that he was not always able to catch them. If he was lucky, he would get up to three birds, but on a slow day, he would go home empty-handed, even though there were many birds around.

"On a bad day, none of the birds would get close to the cage," he said.

If that happened, he would have to find another place to set his bait.

"It turns out that the birds realize after a while that the one I've put in the cage is just bait to trap them. That's why, over an entire day, no bird dares to draw near. I have to find a another location, because otherwise I'm sure that no bird would approach the cage," he said.

He would then ride his bicycle up and down the hills, over a distance of dozens of kilometers, to seek a new location.

The birds can command an average price of Rp 3,000 to Rp 10,000. Teguh said they were cheap because the birds were wild and not easy to tame. The species vary, such as precit, kutilang, golden kutilang, krocokan, krocokan jenggot and perkutut (turtle doves). But he said that once he was able to sell a branjangan for Rp 40,000.

The merchandise is sold once a week, depending on market day.

"I earn about Rp 20,000 a week, which is reduced by the transportation fare from my house to the market," said Teguh, who would give all the money to his parents, both agricultural workers.

Another bird-catcher, Sutarmin, 34, is a resident of Patikraja village. Unlike Teguh, however, he uses an old fishing net instead of tree sap.

"I usually catch tekukur (small wood pigeons) in the fields," said Sutarmin, who sells the birds at Rp 10,000 apiece.

He said that some people who wanted to keep the birds might find it difficult to tame them.

"But if you know the secret, it's quite easy," he said. The secret, according to him, was to give the birds sweet tea every day.

"I don't know why, but you can prove it yourself."

Sutarmin said that in a week he could sell more than 10 birds.

"Not bad. It's better than becoming a porter. I can make a living from birds," said the man, adding that his earnings were enough to feed his family.