I hit "like" for this photo because it's a good photo and an interesting species, but I'm not sure how I feel about these being offered for sale in a shop because this strikes me as a difficult species to care for - at least for the average person and not someone with experience. I don't know the story behind this shop and I realize that wildlife laws in other countries are different from what we have in the U.S. I hope it ends up in a good home and I really hope it ends up in some sort of managed breeding program.
And thank you for posting these photos! Even though I have mixed feelings about some of these species in captivity, I do appreciate knowing that these are being offered for sale in their home country.
@Summer Tanager These photos I had took in a bird market in Solo. Sunbirds in Indonesian market are generally captured from the wild and I'm aware that they're only a few captive sunbird farm here (Even then they're mostly to be sold again to the market). The species and most other sunbirds are currently not included in the protected species lists according to Indonesian law, but overexploitation and illegal poaching have resulted in several arrests and confiscation for many years. Despite this, sunbird are suprisingly one the popoular type of caged birds here in Indonesia and are commonly kept among collectors. In term of difficulty, due to their limited diet and possibly fragility, I'm pretty sure that they're only kept long-term by experienced collector or avid sunbird enthusiasts.
Don't worry! I'm not a huge fan of our local exotic pet trade (If you noticed my comments in the Indonesian forum). Though I feel like its still appropriate to document this animals while still condemning this practise and to minimize any profit given to the sellers if I have the chance.
@Rizz Carlton Thank you! I think you and I are on the same page and I appreciate you documenting the trade without promoting it! I hadn't read the Indonesian forum so I wasn't aware of the discussion - thank you for letting me know out that!
