MENGLEMBU, Aug 3 — Sitting on the panel of two judges for merbok (zebra dove) singing competitions in Ipoh, 76-year-old Wong Kim Pang is kept busy with the monthly competitions in Menglembu, Perak.
A retired civil servant, Wong’s interest in merbok began at the age of 16 in 1955 when rearing birds was a common pastime. This year marks his 60th year of involvement in the hobby, which includes organising the first merbok singing competition in Ipoh in 1970 and starting the Perak Merbok Club a few years later. Like he said, “Once a merbok lover, always a merbok lover.”
As a competition organiser, Wong found it difficult to engage judges and resorted to inviting those from neighbouring countries. So, he took the initiative to qualify as a judge through experience and training, attending almost every competition not only in Malaysia but also Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Since then, Wong has judged numerous competitions, which is not an easy feat.
A merbok competition attracts hundreds of entries, usually male birds, from eager hobbyists for these categories: Big sound bird, Middle sound bird, Small sound bird and Young bird for birds below six months old.
To the untrained ear, one merbok singing is no different from another. However, for an experienced judge like Wong, his sharp ears easily pick up the notes from every single bird, even if he is surrounded by them on 20-foot poles and just about 15 to 20 feet apart.
Explaining the judging system in Malaysia, he said: “A good singing bird must be able to produce four basic steps: the starting note (eow), the middle sound with at least two variations (ke-tak) and the ending sound (gong). The louder the ‘gong’, the better it is. Unfortunately, that’s not all. A good singer must also be able to carry a melody. All four sounds must be balanced, which makes listening to the bird pleasing to the ears.”
In a standard merbok singing competition, there are four judges who each can award a maximum of a 100 points per bird; 20 points per step and melody, except for the ending sound, which is worth 40 points. The winning bird is the one with the highest score after points from the judges who have given the top three marks are tabulated. Similar to other competitions, maximum points are hardly awarded so a bird that achieves 85 points is considered one of the best.
The real value of a merbok is priceless for someone who appreciates the beauty of its singing because every bird has an individual and unique voice that cannot be duplicated or replicated. This value increases with each competition it wins.
It is not surprising that a good singing bird is very expensive. A Class A bird has a price tag of RM30,000 or more compared to a Class C bird, which can command RM10,000 “only”. Of course, unclassified birds are a lot cheaper.
New merbok hobbyists, should bear in mind that not all birds can sing. Obviously, the more expensive the bird, the better it sings. In any case, birds have to be trained and one of the proven ways is to hang it on a pole as often as possible alongside other birds for exposure. Some owners believe that by force-feeding it with cili padi (bird’s eye chilli pepper), the bird would be more hardworking in its singing practice.
Just like other pet owners, those who keep the merbok have to be similarly dedicated in caring for their birds, from providing clean water and good feed to cleaning their cages and even bathing them regularly. A bird that is well cared for can live up to 30 years.
Despite all these efforts, don’t be surprised if a merbok never sings! After all, a good singing voice is a natural gift. The owner would be lucky if his bird is a slow developer!
Wong noticed that most hobbyists think chances of owning a good singing bird are high with the quantity of birds they keep. He said: “That’s actually a wrong approach. It’s good enough to own one or two quality birds and put in time to nurture them to be better singers.”
Although Malaysia boasts a respectable number of merbok hobbyists and breeders, it is an industry by itself in southern Thailand.
“With at least 600,000 breeding pairs, it’s a real money generator. It’s no wonder that some of the best birds are from Thailand. To my knowledge, a prize-winning bird was sold to a Singaporean for RM98,000 while another to a Malaysian for RM40,000,” Wong shared.
“All merbok birds that are commercially bred in Thailand are tagged with a code and registered at birth with their hatchery. If any of these birds emerges as champion, its lineage can be easily traced back to its hatchery. Thus, the breeder becomes famous for producing top class birds and become known to merbok hobbyists and potential buyers.”
