KARACHI: These are definitely not one of those birds which you buy at traffic signals to set free for rewards in the hereafter. After all, who would buy a macaw or a cockatoo worth hundreds of thousands of rupees and then set free?

These birds are to be bought and displayed as showpieces in pretty cages or on perch stands for everyone to admire. From the green, blue, red, orange dyed chicks for Rs100 each to the Rs6,000 pair of settinet pigeons, the Rs15,000 pair of peacocks, Rs50,000 African grey parrot, the Rs100,000 cockatoo and Rs250,000 macaw with long lifespan, the bird markets of Karachi in Buffer Zone, Liaquatabad and Empress Market have just about every ornamental bird under the sky, with their wings clipped of course, that you may have heard of.

If you love birds but can’t afford to buy a grown up one, there are also their eggs for sale which you can take home and keep in a nice warm place while you wait to see them hatch. Some of these eggs even come with a money-back guarantee.

Many of the birds at the markets are sold in pairs. Then you can become a breeder yourself as the birds multiply in numbers and then go on to sell them, too, if you can’t take care of so many yourself. Or you may build a bigger cage to accommodate them all.

There is chirping, hooting, shrieking and singing all at once. The bird markets are also good places to buy bird feed such as seeds, beans, lentils, rice or even worms, in case you own woodpeckers or the like that won’t eat anything else. The various breeds of budgies like to eat in the light. “So we have installed light bulbs inside their cages,” says Izhar Khan, a bird shop owner. They also keep spray bottles with water to spray on the birds to keep them cool in the heat. The birds welcome this. It is like taking a shower for them as they happily spread their wings as they prance up and down in their cages.

A green parrot tilts its head to one side trying to understand why anyone would want to take its picture. A Rs12,000 turkey wakes up from its slumber and cocks his head to focus better on you. As one tries to take the photographs of falcons up ahead some shop owners would become nervous. “Hey, don’t take photographs here,” they tell you. “You will publish a story in your paper or magazine and here we will have those men demanding sales permits from us,” says one.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2017