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Kabul: Just after sunrise on the Afghan day of rest, two goldfinches puffed their chests and belted a song, surrounded by men straining to hear which chirped stronger in an age-old pastime. Every Friday, weather permitting, hundreds gather on a derelict basketball court in west Kabul, pitching pet birds against each other in a test of tweets and trills. "Life is short, so we need to enjoy it," said 50-year-old Jamaluddin, who goes by only one name.

"This is what excites me and gives me peace of mind." Under the Taliban government, entertainment options have drastically shrunk in line. The authorities have also warned against betting -- once a roaring trade on the sidelines of birdsong duels -- but the competitions remain immensely popular.



"The human mind is made to chase happiness," said 42-year-old spectator Ahmad Wahid Dostyar. "I have come here to spend some good time and calm my mind." The bird owners remove cage shrouds and hand their avian champions to a pair of referees who hold them aloft to spectators.

As the cages are placed side-by-side on a chalk "X", the crowd falls quiet. The birds -- all male, like the human onlookers -- flit onto perches just a beak-length apart. Then they start singing in jittery dominance displays.

The rules are simple: the first to stop loses. An umpire counts the silenced bird to 10, like a boxing referee after a knock-out, and the winner is declared. The Afghan obsession with birds runs deep, with bird-related hobbies enjoyed across ages.

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