A Man. His Bike. A Few Birds.

~ Live & Learn

birds-songbirds-song birds-bicycle-china

A man rides a bicycle while carrying finches on poles in Beijing. Songbirds are a popular and traditional pet in China, especially among older people.  (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

21 thoughts on “A Man. His Bike. A Few Birds.”

  6. They’re tethered. This picture makes me really sad. I’m sorry I seem to be the only one who sees it from the birds’ point of view, but would you like to be tethered to those sticks, wondering when you’ll get your next bit of food or sip of water and certainly not being allowed to fly free as you were meant to be? Yes, people will make pets of anything, but wild birds? These are yellow-billed grosbeaks (or black-tailed wax-billed finches). Sorry David. This photo just makes me feel bad. A lot of the practices in China make me feel bad when animals are concerned.

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    1. I saw the clasps. And it is impossible (IMPOSSIBLE) to disagree with you Anneli. Yet, I’m hypocritical. We had a beautiful Sun Conure as a pet for 4 years and its wings were clipped and it was in cage. Well cared for, a happy creature but in a cage in a house. Not so wildly different from the photo. Two follow-ons that have left an indelible impression on me:

      ““As long as Man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.””

      – Pythagoras

      and

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      1. You’ve got a point there. And I’m not ready to go vegan yet. I suppose seeing those birds like that reminded me of a man I saw at one of the state border crossings in Mexico. He was swinging a bird around in a tiny cage, offering it for sale. It was very hot out and the bird had no water. I wanted to buy it and let it go but that’s probably what the man was counting on. Then he’d recapture it and sell it again. My sister had budgies for years and loved them and cared for them. I think some birds have never known the freedom of nature but these in the photo looked too much like the birds that come to my feeders.

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