They know when the boxed bird sings.

June 4, 2014 11:16 AM

Vinkensport (finch sport), or vinkenzetting (finch sitting) is a Belgian, primarily Flemish, sport involving a box, a bird, and a counting stick. The bird that sings the most times in an hour wins. Here is a short and somewhat doubtful documentary.
posted by hydrophonic (9 comments total)

Needs more cats.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:52 AM on June 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I, uh, wow. Huh. Well. Hm.
posted by heresiarch at 12:01 PM on June 4, 2014

As with other sports, vinkensport has had its cheating scandals, as well as accusations of artificial enhancement. One finch sang a record 1,278 susk-e-weits in one hour, and the owner was later accused of doping the bird with testosterone. After one contestant sang exactly the same number of calls in two rounds, the box was opened and a mini CD player was discovered within.

...
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:09 PM on June 4, 2014

Okay, I started with the last link and was totally convinced that this was a joke. Now I'm just wondering how many people are in on it.
Is...is the entire Flemish race just trolling the rest of the world? That would explain some things.
posted by agentofselection at 12:10 PM on June 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

"Throughout much of its history, certain attributes of the sport have garnered criticism. Early proponents of the sport would blind birds with hot needles in order to reduce visual distractions."

WHAT
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 12:17 PM on June 4, 2014

When my brother was little, he got caught poking the parakeet to make it squawk, then got spanked for it.

Is this sport related?
posted by BlueHorse at 12:39 PM on June 4, 2014

House finches are the ones I am most familiar with and they have wonderful songs. Each male has a different song, 10 - 15 seconds long which varies as they introduce small changes. The song itself is "complicated" according to Peterson but usually ends in a two-note sign-off. The most I have ever heard from birds around my house is a run of perhaps fifteen songs back-to-back, but I seldom count. There are numerous videos of house finches on YouTube and you can hear their songs there. None sound like the ones in my immediate area.
posted by CCBC at 1:07 PM on June 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Well, that may be how they do it in Belgium, but here in the US we have cheerleaders, a half time show (marching pigeons), and a preseason bird draft that goes on for weeks. Of course lately there are a lot of lawsuits over CTS (Chronic Tweeting Syndrome). Just saying.
posted by ecorrocio at 3:48 PM on June 4, 2014

Can't be any stranger than competitive rooster crowing, which blew my mind at the MO state fair.
posted by scruss at 4:42 PM on June 4, 2014