For hundreds of years, some Cubans have caught and kept songbirds and held bird-singing contests.
Throughout a turbulent period of economic sanctions and political unrest, these small, beautiful birds provided companionship, entertainment and friendly competition within communities. Now with regular travel and emigration between Cuba and the USA, the tradition of songbird contests has crossed an ocean, and is particularly popular in Florida. As songbird populations plummet, US law enforcement is cracking down on the trapping, trading and competing of these birds.
USA
Karine is an award-winning photojournalist who captures visual stories that explore the relationships between humans and the animal world. Her work has been featured in National Geographic Magazine, Audubon, The New York Times, Nature Conservancy Magazine, The Guardian, WWF and BBC Wildlife. In 2022, Karine became the fifth woman in 58 years to ever win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Grand Title.
