I’m one of those who frown on making pets out of birds. I
think it is cruel to restrain them in a cage when they can have
the whole sky.
However, I found myself reviewing that notion when
workers found a kilyawan (Black-naped
oriole) hanging by its leg from a branch on a tree beside our house. At first, I thought that the men were reaching
up with a stick to get at a mango before I realized two things: it wasn’t a
mango tree; the “mango” (the kilyawan is a yellow and black bird), was
fluttering its wings.