In Iraqi school reading books, the nightingale bird used to pass between the first pages of children, starting from the primary stage. The Iraqi curriculum was full of poems and stories about nightingales. Second grade students used to recite the poem of the poet Baqir Samaka Al-Hilli: “The charming nightingale flies in the garden,” and years later they would move on to a poem attributed to Al-Asma’i: “The sound of the nightingale’s whistle… stirred my drunken heart.”
But that sound, preserved for generations of Iraqis in books, is now less present in the reality of gardens and orchards. And in Baghdad, where the warbling of nightingales was once part of the daily scene in homes and green spaces, finding them has become more difficult.
In the heart of Baghdad, the Ghazl market seems like another world: cages stacked high, birds of various colors blending behind wires, their calls rising into the crowded market space. Among the sparrows and pigeons, nightingales appear, their songs drawing shoppers to their melodies, which hold a special place in Iraqi memory.
Baghdad without nightingales
Mohammed Lafteh, a bird seller in the Ghazl market in central Baghdad, says that the presence of nightingales in Baghdad has become limited due to the decline in green spaces and urban expansion, but they are still present in agricultural areas. However, hunting operations mostly target young chicks, which exacerbates the decline in their numbers.
He describes the Iraqi bulbul as one of the best types of bulbuls, due to its distinctive appearance, as it has a white cheek and a black head, in addition to its distinctive voice and singing.
Birds were not spared from corruption
The journey of the bulbul between Iraqi cities is not without other obstacles, as even the birds have not been spared from the scourge of corruption. While they are being transported from the orchards to the markets, the security checkpoints become another stop where traders pay money, or risk having their birds confiscated, according to what Ali, a bird trader in the Ghazl market, revealed.
Ali says that transporting the bulbuls faces obstacles, as traders are required to pay sums of up to 4 million Iraqi dinars (about $2,800) or the birds are subject to confiscation.
He points out that the majority of the bulbuls offered in the market are of the Iranian type, brought from the border regions, because of their loud voices and low cost compared to the Iraqi bulbul, as their prices start from 10,000 Iraqi dinars (about $8) and reach 800,000 Iraqi dinars (about $550), and some types may enter auctions because of the diversity of their singing ranges and their ability to be trained to speak.
The breeding season for bulbuls comes in the summer, coinciding with the date production season. A bulbul may breed twice in one season, while it feeds on seasonal fruits and crops, including dates, jujubes, figs, and others.
In the district of Mandali, east of Diyala Governorate on the Iraqi-Iranian border, the paradise of Iraqi pomegranates and oranges, the town still retains the home of the sweetest and most famous singing nightingales.
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