Bird trail in Ho Chi Minh City

Keeping song birds is one of the most traditional hobbies in Ho Chi Minh City; today, the bustling metropolis maintains a few gathering places for bird enthusiasts and traders that offers visitors a unique peek into the culture.

Bird café at Tao Dan Park

Photo credit: Panoramio

Located in the downtown park in District 1, the outdoor café is open every day and always busy, especially on weekends. It offers one of the city’s busiest and most famous birding venues.

With or without bringing their winged pets, regulars gather to talk about birds, or listen to their songs – a sound otherwise rare in the city.

As many of customers are skilled and professional breeders, it's not uncommon to spot rare birds and precious cages at the venue.

Thuan Kieu Plaza bird market

Photo credit: Panoramio

This market sits on District 5’s Tan Hung Street next to the Thuan Kieu Plaza shopping mall and is frequented by many bird raisers in HCMC. You can buy a bird at home-run shops or directly from breeders who gather at street cafés or on sidewalks.

Part of the market is taken up by the sellers of feeder insects (worms, crickets, and grasshoppers caught in the outlying districts like Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, and Cu Chi, and even Mekong Delta provinces. It is said to be the sole insect market in the city.

Other venues

File photo

Although Le Hong Phong Street in District 10 is best known as a pet market with many dog and cat shops, you still can find a variety of bird cages hanging in front of the houses that line the street. A preponderance of nightingales, magpie-robins, and white-eyes creates a lively harmony in the center of the city.

Another suburban venue is Truong Chinh Street in Tan Binh District. Unlike the Le Hong Phong market, this remote market is crowded with ornamental plant and fish shops in addition to kiosks displaying bird cages.

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