Vinkensport

Vinkensport (Dutch for "finch sport") is a competitive animal sport in which male common chaffinches are made to compete for the highest number of bird calls in an hour. Also called vinkenzetting ("finch sitting"). It is primarily active in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium.

Vinkensport traces its origins to competitions held by Flemish merchants in 1596, and is considered part of traditional Flemish culture. As of 2007, it was estimated that there are over 13,000 enthusiasts, called vinkeniers ("finchers"), breeding 10,000 birds every year. Animal rights activists oppose the sport.

In a contest, a row of small cages, each housing a single male finch, is lined up approximately six feet apart along a street. The proximity of the cages increases the number of calls, as the birds sing for mates and to establish territory. A timekeeper begins and ends the contest with a red flag.

Every time a bird sings a correct terminating flourish to their call—most often transcribed as susk-e-wiet—a tally mark in chalk is made on a long wooden stick. The bird singing its song the most times during one hour wins the contest. Champion finches regularly sing hundreds of calls in contests.

The earliest known records of vinkeniers are from 1596 (with some sources advocating a slightly earlier 1593 origin) with Flemish merchants competing. By the late nineteenth century, vinkenzetting's popularity had diminished significantly, but it saw a resurgence after the First World War. As of 2007, it was estimated that there are over 13,000 vinkeniers breeding 10,000 birds every year. However, the popularity of this folk sport is waning in the 21st century. There was also a museum of the sport (Nationaal Volkssportmuseum Vinkensport) in the village of Hulste in the Harelbeke municipality of Belgium until 2010.

Vinkeniers use a variety of methods to increase the number of calls in their birds. Techniques to develop singing aptitude include selective breeding programs, high-protein diets, and stimulating them with music and recordings of bird song. As wild finches generally begin singing during the spring mating season, keepers may also use artificial lights placed in aviaries to encourage increased song.

Some vinkeniers claim that finches from the different regions of Belgium sing in different dialects; with birds from the Dutch-speaking Flanders singing "in Dutch" and those from the French-speaking Wallonia singing undesirably "in French". The use of "Dutch" and "Walloon" to describe these two supposed types of finches has been suggested to refer to a simple difference in calling not literally linked to either the Flemish or Walloon communities of Belgium, and some linguists even suggest that "Walloon" simply means "foreign". While minute regional differences (a.k.a. dialects) in song have been observed in the chaffinch (also within Belgium), the differences have only been reliably distinguishable by the use of sonograms. Taxonomically, there are no officially recognized subspecies of chaffinch within Belgium.

Speed-singing contests for finches are also a common event in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and Brazil. The male finches are placed in cages on poles about one foot apart. The first finch to reach 50 songs wins. The illegal importation of these finches from immigrants of these countries has challenged authorities in New York City.