The chaffinch breed between spring and early summer.
During this period, the male chaffinch tries to attract females by making short 2-3-second-long mating calls.
Vinkensport participants in Beernem, Belgium.
Photo:Thomas Dekiere/Shutterstock.com
The contest usually takes place in the open, such as along a road.
Only songs that terminate with the characteristicsusk-e-wietare counted.
The bird with the most calls in an hour is declared the winner.
For many, vinkensport may sound like a pleasant sport, boring even, but competition is cut-throat.
This practice was outlawed in the 1920s, thanks to a campaign led by blind World War I veterans.
The famous English author and poet Thomas Hardy also decried the practice through the poem The Blinded Bird.
Today, the birds are kept in small, darkened boxes, which is cruel all the same.
Photo:hedera.baltica/Flickr
Listen to the common chaffinch sing in the above video.
When the judge ordered the cage opened, inside was discovered a mini CD player.
The history of the sport can be traced back to the 1590s among Flemish merchants.
As of 2007, there was an estimated 13,000 vinkeniers breeding 10,000 birds every year.
The Flemish bird protection society claims that many of the birds currently in captivity are wild birds trapped illegally.
