Trini and Liman

Trini is a Timor Sparrow (Padda fuscata) who often wanders around the Nglanggeran Jungle. It might be uncommon to see a Timor Sparrow in Java; this bird is usually not regarded as a migratory bird. When Trini was playing in the grassland somewhere in Oecusse-Ambeno (Timor Leste), she was caught by a group of bird lovers and traded in Pasar Burung Bintang (Bintang bird market) in Medan (North Sumatera). A bird lover from Madiun (East Java) bought Trini and brought her home. Part of her adjustment as a cagebird was to perform in a singing bird contest in the city center. Owning pet birds has always been a Javanese tradition. In fact, having the abilities to identify specific bird sounds used to symbolise the true character of aristocratic Javanese men.

On the day of the contest, Trini found her way to escape at the Alun-alun Kota Madiun (Madiun Square). The moment Trini saw sawah, the paddy fields spreading around the village of Umbulsari, she decided to settle there. She began to make home in the Nglanggeran Jungle and there befriended Moni. On one of her food adventures in the sawah, she met Liman, a Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora). Perhaps the fact that both birds are generally considered rice predators made Trini and Liman quickly form a friendship. Liman’s families have lived in the area for generations. Contrary to the Timor Sparrow, the Java sparrows (gelatik jawa) have always been regarded as a common bird. They were considered too ordinary to be fancied by humans and on top of that farmers referred to them as ‘rice attackers’. When their conservation status became endangered in 2019, many people did not care much about it.