KOTA BARU: Kelantan may be known for its popular songbird competitions, but there seems to be a new trend among hobbyists in the state.
Parrots have become a new craze as people with similar interests have been gathering and showcasing these colourful birds.
Kelantan Free Fly Community Club president Tuan Mohd Azrin Tuan Mohd Ariffin said a parrot can be trained to recognise its owner's voice, and it can be taught to fly away and return back to the owner.
He said parrots can also be taught to step on to an owner's hand at a command.
"The bird will be trained to fly freely and later we will call their names so that they recognise us and return to us.
"By doing this, we hope the bird can learn to trust people and possibly know the basic command of 'stepping up' and 'stepping down'.
"Training your parrot to step up onto your hand is the first behaviour the bird will learn. It helps your parrot to trust you," he said when met during a gathering of the club's members in Seribong here.
Tuan Azrin said its members bought various species of parrots such as African Grey, Macaw and Cockatoo.
"Our members are from various backgrounds including students," he added.
He said parrot enthusiasts were willing to spend money for their passion as a parrot could be priced up to RM25,000.
The parrots owned by the club's members are priced between RM2,000 and RM25,000.
"Their ages are between six months to seven years and they weigh between 800g to 1.2kg."
The club has about 80 members, with 30 members being truly active since it was set up last year.
"Every weekend, we will gather at a field including in Seribong here to train the parrots."
He said the club has never taken part in any bird competition in Kelantan because it was relatively new, but he hopes it happens in the future.
Kelantanese bird hobbyists often showcase 'burung candik' or 'burung merbah berjambul merah' (red wiskered bulbul bird) in the many songbird competitions held in the state.
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