Canary aficionadas gather in Kütahya

KÜTAHYA - Anatolia News Agency

The value of canary birds increases in various competitions; they become more precious.

Canaries, with their yellow and green feathers and nightingale-like singing, have been changing hands at auctions organized by an association in the Aegean province of Kütahya for 37 years. Prices range from 20 to 100 Turkish Liras at the auctions, and sometimes reach as high as 1,500 liras for competition winners.

Thanks to their delicacy and beautiful voices, canaries also inspire many works
of art including paintings and films.

Members of the Kütahya Canary Association feel the excitement of exchanging new canaries every Sunday at auctions. The members, who keep many canaries in their homes, hit the road with their birds in cages to visit the association’s headquarters, located at the Ulucami Business Center, a historical place in the city’s Börekçiler neighborhood.

Members exchange their canaries

During the auctions, an official shows the birds to members one by one and sells them to the highest bidder. The birds leave the auction with their new owners.

The chairman of the Kütahya Canary Association, Sabri Dikbasan, said the association had been formed in 1976 and had 62 members. He said members and guests visited the headquarters and had their canaries evaluated there.

“We bring the canaries that we raise to various auctions in Kütahya or in other cities. We organize competitions.

The value of our birds increases in these competitions; they become more precious. There were some 1,500 canaries of 400 types last year in the Kütahya contest. We select the winners of each type and give medals to the winners with the top three birds. Thanks to such events, people do not go to coffeehouses and do not smoke. We drink our tea together during our auctions,” said Dikbasan,
“When a canary placed in competitions, it could be sold for prices up to 1,500 liras at the end of competitions,” he added.

He said the headquarters of the association had been allocated by the municipality but they were trying to find a larger new location.

Members of the association also said exchanging birds was a hobby for them.