Characterising bird-keeping user-groups on Java reveals distinct behaviours, profiles and potential for change

1. Over 70 million cage-birds are kept across 12 million households on the island of Java, Indonesia, fuelling serious concerns for the health of regional wild bird populations. Understanding the behaviours, preferences and demographic profiles of bird-keepers will guide attempts to reduce demand for wild birds and hence the impact of trade on wild populations and their host ecosystems.

2. We profile three songbird-keeping user-groups based on interviews of nearly one thousand people across Java: Hobbyists, who own birds primarily as pets; Contestants, who own birds to enter in singing contests; and Breeders, who own birds to breed and train for resale or as a pastime.

3. User-groups diverged in their bird-keeping habits and preferences. Hobbyists tended to own small numbers of inexpensive and typically native birds, while contestants and breeders owned larger numbers of often valuable birds. Hobbyists were far less likely to consider origin when buying a bird, owned a larger prop...