'Turkish Whisperer' sings songs for centuries

BAYBURT

The Bayburt pigeon, one of the four most precious songbird species in Türkiye, has been fed by volunteers in the southeastern city as a cultural heritage for centuries.

The pigeon is a distinguished one with its voice, large body structure and color.

Bayburt pigeon breed is among the species that have managed to maintain its purity. The pigeon has two forelocks, one on the front of its head and one on the back, but it does not have feathers on its feet.

Bayburt pigeon is defined as the “Turkish Whisperer” in the world bird literature due to the smoothness of its song.

The people of Bayburt organize various events for the pigeons unique to their region. One of those activities is the tradition of “listening to birds.” Pigeons raised for their voices are the main theme of conversations in the city.

Locals, who come together every week, gather around a traditional round metal tray, known as sini, and listen to the sounds of the birds in a quiet environment. They try to make sense of the sounds made by pigeons.

Mustafa Kayalı, stating that he has been feeding Bayburt pigeons since a young age, noted that the birders who look after and feed the birds compare the sound of the pigeon's song to the sound of the instrument of musicians.

Kayalı emphasized that his interest in feeding Bayburt pigeons started when he was seven years old, when he was influenced by a neighbor who was a birder in the neighborhood. Stating that he has been breeding Bayburt pigeons for 50 years, Kayalı said that Bayburt pigeons have an important place for the people of the city.

Stating that Bayburt pigeons sing at certain periods of the year, Kayalı said that it ends in March, and that their breeding process begins after this month, continuing until until September.

He stated that the Bayburt pigeon is a species that has been kept since the 1800s due to its beautiful voice.

“This bird is a type of pigeon that has been kept in Bayburt for its voice since the late 1800s. The Bayburt bird, that is, the Bayburt pigeon, is in the literature as the Turkish whisperer. Its feature is that it has double hood on its head. But the most important feature is that it has a beautiful voice. It is fed because of this feature. Starting from the end of September, we separate the female pigeons from the males. The end of March is the time for birds to start singing,” he said.

Kayalı said that his friends come to his house to listen to the bird sounds and enjoy it during the cooing period of the Bayburt pigeon. "After listening to their cooing, we criticize its sound, the shape of its mouth when it sings, and such things. We spend the nights in Bayburt in this way and enjoy it very much.”

Kayalı pointed out that there are Bayburt pigeons in various parts of Türkiye, adding, “Wherever the people of Bayburt migrated, they took the Bayburt pigeon there. You can find this bird everywhere in Istanbul, Bursa, Gümüşhane, Germany and France.”

On the other hand, Kayalı said that pigeons' nests are made of meadow grass, adding, “We make pigeons' nests from this grass. It has standard sizes. It has a width of 21 centimeters and a length of 40 centimeters. There is no nest system like this anywhere in Türkiye. The best feature of these nests is that since they are grass, there is air circulation. In this way, the dirt in the nest dries at a short time and the baby pigeons grow up healthy.”