Indonesian birds on the brink as forests plundered

To go with INDONESIA-CONSERVATION, FEATURE by Nick Perry This photograph taken on January 6, 2016 shows Megananda Daryono, the owner of a vast aviary that runs a bird breeding program, looking at his Brazilian makaw in Bogor, south of Jakarta. Barely a few days old, perched on a nest of twigs inside an incubator, a newborn Indonesian songbird -- cherished for its melodious chirp -- tweets weakly as a tiny metallic ring is attached to its leg. The tag shows potential buyers the chick was bred in captivity. It's an important symbol, which shows it was not trapped in the wild and smuggled, an illegal trade which sees birds packed in their thousands in shipping crates or stuffed in plastic bottles before being sold in giant avian markets in Indonesia's major cities. AFP PHOTO / Bay ISMOYO

BOGOR, Indonesia: Barely a few days old, perched on a nest of twigs inside an incubator, a newborn Indonesian songbird -- cherished for its melodious chirp -- tweets weakly as a tiny metallic ring is attached to its leg.

The tag shows potential buyers the chick was bred in captivity. It’s an important symbol, which shows it was not trapped in the wild and smuggled, an illegal trade which sees birds packed in their thousands in shipping crates or stuffed in plastic bottles before being sold in giant avian markets in Indonesia’s major cities.