How songbird contests are emptying Indonesia’s forests

Описание: The murai batu is famous for its voice, a dazzling mix of trills, whistles and screams that has made it one of Indonesia’s most prized songbirds. But that fame comes at a cost.

In Java, songbirds are status symbols, and a boom in songbird competitions has sent demand for wild murai batu, or the white-rumped shama, soaring. Forests across Java have been stripped bare. Now, poachers are pushing farther afield to feed an ever-hungrier market.

This film follows poachers, competitors and scientists and asks whether the murai batu can be saved before its song disappears from Indonesia’s forests forever.

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