Kalon or Red-Whiskered Bulbul may become extinct

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbul

Kalon or red-whiskered Bulbul may become extinct

Independent Mon News Agency
August 17, 2007

Mon community leaders in Tenasserim Division in southern Burma are worried about the red-whiskered Bulbul or Kalon bird, in local parlance, becoming extinct with local people trapping the birds for export to Thailand .

Local people in Yebyu and Tavoy Township Tenasserim Division use nets and traps to catch the red-whiskered Bulbuls or Kalons. Groups of people are engaged in this activity in the Yebyu and Tavoy forest.

The Kalon birds are dark blue, yellow and green in colour. It has a sweet voice and some Thai people keep it as pets at home.

"Most of the trappers are Muslims, some Mon and some Burmese people," said a Yebyu resident.

"A Kalon bird is worth 3,000 Baht. That is why people catch the bird," he added.

According to a bird catcher they sell it as pets in Suwanabumi Airport Garden .

With more and more people bent on catching the Kalon, local community leaders have asked the New Mon State Party's (NMSP) Tavoy district administrator to stop the practice.

According to the NMSP Tavoy district officer, they had released an order banning the trapping of Kalon birds because it would lead to the bird's extinction.

Currently, the Kalon bird sells for 3,000 Baht on the Thai Burma border and Thai tourists buy it for their home because of its sweet voice and coloured feathers.

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