Karine Aigner (USA) delves into the relationship between Cuban culture and songbirds, and explores the future of a deep-rooted tradition.
A birdsong contest pitting indigo buntings against each other is underway at a park in the Cuban city of Ciego de Ávila. The winner is the bird with the longest and most complex song. Training the birds involves playing recorded songs of other species on a loop or housing them with other songbirds in the hope they'll develop new, hybrid songs.
Contestants either buy their birds from trappers or catch their own. Although trapping has been illegal for more than a decade, it is only just becoming less socially acceptable as bird numbers decline. Birdsong contests don't just take place in Cuba and Florida, there are another 19 countries around the world where they happen.
USA
Karine is an award-winning photojournalist who captures visual stories that explore the relationships between humans and the animal world. Her work has been featured in National Geographic Magazine, Audubon, The New York Times, Nature Conservancy Magazine, The Guardian, WWF and BBC Wildlife. In 2022, Karine became the fifth woman in 58 years to ever win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Grand Title.
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