By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press
METEN-MEER-ZORG, Guyana (AP) — The birds face each other as the crowd waits to see which feathered creature is the first to chirp 50 times. Birdsong competitions are a centuries-old tradition in Guyana that rakes in thousands of dollars and is run by men. It’s so popular that the practice has spread to New York, with people increasingly smuggling tiny songbirds into the U.S. by hiding them in hair curlers or toilet paper rolls. The competitions are expected to grow into a costly gambling operation amid an oil boom that is just starting in this South American country.
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Read More: Guyana birdsong competitions flourish amid oil boom