Sporty bird: A lovebird is trained to pick up a ball before putting it into a hanging basket. (Courtesy of YouTube/Bird Day)

The sight of topeng monyet, monkeys dressed up and pushing a toy cart or bicycle used to be a common form of street entertainment in kampungs in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and other cities in Indonesia. But imagine the animals engaged in the scene today are birds three times smaller than the cart?

This scene involving small pet birds, especially lovebirds, is real. It has become part of the home entertainment menu that Yenny, 28, not her real name, and her family enjoy through her large screen smart TV.

As seen in the trick, with its beak, one lovebird pushes a cart in which another sits and when the cart reaches the finishing point, it slips out of place, with the two birds then rushing to get food. Pushing the toy cart is only one of the tricks that showcase the lovebirds’ intelligence and amazing talent. Among the list of tricks is the hoop, fetching, a coin trick, ring tossing, turn-a-round, shaking hands, card pulling, a tunnel, flapping, basketball, etc.

“Of the various tricks, basketball is my favorite because it is funny how the two birds scramble for the ball with their beaks before one of them manages to get the ball and puts it into the little basket,” she says.

Yenny, who works as a salesperson in a private company, says that her office, which adheres to the government’s social distancing policy to prevent the rapid transmission of COVID-19 has allowed her to work from home (WFH), which means having more time with her family at home. With an internet-connected smart TV, her family can enjoy a variety of entertainment videos from YouTube channels, and those from the animal world are her favorites.

Lovebirds, so named because of their strong pairing bonds, are categorized in the smaller parrot species. They range in size between 13 and 19 centimeters.

The small birds, native to Africa and Madagascar, have rounded heads and relatively large beaks. They are also popular because of the beautiful colors of their plumage. Most of them are green but others have orange, yellow, gray, black or red on their heads and necks.

Several species of lovebirds can also be found in Indonesia, with lovebird aficionados engaged in breeding them. Lovebird communities are active, often holding contests with cash prizes on a regular basis. The mainstay of lovebird competitions is their singing ability.

“What attracted me most to keep lovebirds was their beautiful plumage and birdsong,” says Oman, 22, who lives in Depok, West Java, and who has kept the pet birds since he was at elementary school.

With their intelligence and talent, lovebirds can be trained to perform various tricks, which can please the owner and the owner’s family members or other people when uploaded on social media platforms like YouTube or Instagram.

Although focusing mostly on their birdsong, Oman has extensive experience in training his lovebirds to fly. “I raise my lovebirds from chicks so they are easily tamed. I replace the role that their mothers play in giving them food and drink until their feathers start to grow,” says Oman, who owns 10 lovebirds and often takes part in lovebird song contests.

“The flying training starts when they are already fledged and I do it outdoors. But now with the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve had to stop the activity temporarily,” he says.

Gentle handling: Feeding adult lovebirds by hand can help tame them. (Courtesy of YouTube/Bird Day)

According to Reva Nandolla, content administrator at Urbanindo.com, the time needed to train lovebirds to perform a trick depends on the level of difficulty. “Commonly, easy tricks like the handshake take only one day but difficult tricks like basketball may take between two and three days,” says the 28-year old who owns YouTube channel, Bird Day.

He has trained his lovebirds to play basketball, the boomerang, high five, talking, targeting, playing dead, skateboarding, sliding, spinning and riding a bike, he says.

“I sometimes create new tricks,” says Reva who owns 13 lovebirds.

“As far as I know, lovebirds in Indonesia are kept mainly for contests and so I want people to know more about lovebirds,” he says, explaining what encouraged him to keep the lovebirds.

He says that he wants people to understand that lovebirds are smart birds and also good companions at home.

Anton, 30, who keeps five lovebirds in his home in Bekasi, West Java, has begun to develop a keen interest in training his lovebirds, especially with the spare time he has following the WFH policy that his office has adopted for more than two weeks.

With the WFH policy, he does not have to commute to and from Jakarta, “which means I have more to time to spend with my lovebirds and, of course, my family,” he says.

Although he has kept lovebirds for more than five years, he focused mainly on song practices when it came to the skill that his birds should acquire.

He previously only had enough time with his lovebirds on Saturdays and Sundays or when on holiday. “I’ve tried to train my lovebirds some tricks,” he says.

He teaches his lovebirds tricks by following guidelines that he gets from YouTube channels like Bird Day, and kicau.com, a website specializing in pet bird-related information.

Prior to the start of the lovebird-training session, a spiritual bond must first be established between the owner or the caregiver and the bird. “This is the primary prerequisite that we have to fulfill before starting to teach them any trick,” he says, quoting omkicau.com.

Instilling a sense of trust in lovebirds is also of importance by ensuring that “we are their partner, not their enemy,” he says.

The most important thing is, according to omkicau.com, that the bird regards the trainer as an “angel” that is always present to give them treats. “In this way, the birds will become dependent on us so that they will obey anything that we instruct them to do, feeding them treats as a reward,” it says.

Although the lovebirds have first to be tamed so as not to fear being approached by humans, “they are also trained to always obey what we order them to do,” according to the site.

Adoptable methods in training include the use of hand movements, oral orders, a stick and a clicker, a small hand-held device that emits a “click” when pressed and is used to train animals.

Using a clicker allows the lovebirds to focus more on the training and makes them easier to instruct. “However, don’t forget to give them rewards every time they manage to do what you have instructed them to do,” it says.

It is best not to click too often because this will lead to the bird disregarding the device.

The trainer is also advised to use a stick to train the birds, but in case the birds are afraid of the stick, the trainer should not chase them but keep the stick in the previous position and keep an eye on what the bird does and usually it will approach because it understands the trainer is a partner, not the enemy. In this way, the birds will feel that by approaching the stick, they will not be harmed but, instead, get a treat.

The goal of using the stick to train the birds is that the birds will understand intentions in a quicker manner and in this way, can be directed where to go. “The bird will pay attention to the movement of the stick and will approach the direction the stick is aimed at,” it says.

Although it is a challenge to train lovebirds, Anton hopes that one day his lovebirds can acquire the tricks and become part of his family home entertainment in addition to the birds’ long and beautiful songs.