Village people wake to the chirping of birds. Once, city people heard it too, when Dhaka was full of trees and greenery. Over time those places have been taken by tall buildings and the birds have left. Now only crows are seen in the city, and other birds only occasionally.

But people's thinking has changed with time. Many have started keeping birds as a hobby, wanting to hear birdsong in a small space in the city. Many have also started a bird business with little capital, and as the trade has become popular, markets are held in several places each week. However, many bird lovers are angry that the price of bird feed has gone up.

On 13 January, bird lover Sanaullah, who had come from the Mirhazaribagh area of Jatrabari, told Jagonews at the capital's Mugda market: "I heard from my father that there were once trees all over Dhaka, with birds' nests everywhere. They woke to birdsong in the morning. Now big buildings stand where the trees were and you don't hear the birds any more. So I have started keeping birds in a cage on my balcony."

"I keep mostly pigeons at home," Sanaullah said. "They lay eggs and raise chicks every month, but I don't have the heart to eat them. So when the babies grow up I either add cages or sell them. I had a deshi hen, but it died a few days ago. So I have sold a few pigeons to buy a laying hen here. There is no toll (hasil) here, just Tk 20 per cage. That is why more buyers are coming as the market grows."

Fazlul Haque keeps birds as a hobby. "I grew up in the village and came to the city for a job. I don't want to miss the birdsong of the village, so I keep a few kinds of foreign birds at home. Today I came to buy pigeons and bought three pairs. But the high price of feed makes keeping birds difficult. If bird feed were affordable, keeping birds would be easier for many people, many entrepreneurs would emerge and unemployment would ease a good deal."

Expressing anger over feed prices, Abdullah Miaji said one can become self-reliant through the bird trade, but feed prices must come down. "It costs me Tk 400 to raise a pair of pigeon chicks, and yet they sell for Tk 400. They need Tk 35 to 45 of feed every day. If feed prices fell, keeping birds would make it easier to supply protein. People would keep birds at home and have a supply of meat as well."

As the number of bird lovers grows, so does the bird trade. Markets for pigeons, foreign birds and deshi chickens are held at Mugda, Gulistan, Kamrangirchar, Mirpur and a few other places in the capital, but the market beside Mugda stadium is becoming steadily more popular. Traders say many come here because the toll is low.

The market is held every Saturday from morning to evening. A pair of budgerigars costs Tk 400 to 800, baya weavers Tk 400 to 600 and doves Tk 500 to 1,500 depending on size and type. Local and foreign pigeons are the most popular trade. A pair of Lakka pigeon chicks sells for under Tk 1,000, and adult Lakkas for Tk 1,500 to 2,000.

Beauty Homer chicks cost Tk 2,000 and adults Tk 3,000 to 4,000. A pair of Gia Chulli pigeons costs Tk 800, a Lahori Siraji red Tk 2,500, a King pair Tk 3,500, a Jack King Tk 4,000, Danish Tk 4,000 to 5,000, and a female racer pigeon around Tk 2,000. A large laying deshi hen sells for under Tk 1,500.

Seller Mizanur Rahman said trade used to be very good, but many are cutting down the number of birds they keep because feed is costly. Still, the number of bird lovers is growing day by day, with many keeping one or two birds.

Bird trader Md Sharif said that because the toll at Mugda market is low (Tk 20 per cage), buyers and sellers are increasing day by day and everyone comes here. "But feed is a bit expensive now, so many people cannot keep more than one bird even if they want to."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.