Throughout Southeast Asia, songbirds are kept for pleasure and for luck. It is not unusual to see a home or business with a dozen cages hanging from the rafters, each with a different variety of songbird. Songbird competitions are very popular, and the best singing bird can win large cash prizes. The round bamboo birdcage is the most common and utilitarian cage. In the Artefact showroom we use ours as decorative objects - in clusters hanging from the ceiling, as chandeliers and to fill high shelves. They can, of course, be used to keep birds.