NEIGHBOURS often wonder why Melisizwe Taka keeps birds on top of his shack.
But the 32-year-old from Mfuleni, in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha kasi, has a simple answer: they’re his alarm clock and door bell!
“The birds help me a lot. Every morning they move and make noise to wake me up around 4am. When I hear them I know I should wake up and get ready to go to work.”
Melisizwe, who works for a security company, said he has been keeping 16 grey and white pigeons on his roof for five years.
“The birds living on top of my shack make it almost impossible for anyone to come too close unannounced. My birds begin to move and make a noise when a visitor arrives,” he said.
Melisizwe said although the birds sometimes came inside his shack, they mostly stayed outside. Though he feeds them most of the time they can fend for themselves.
“They fly to the taxi rank and other places to look for food. But they always come back at 5pm when I get back from work,” he said.
Melisizwe first developed a love for birds in the Eastern Cape. He had 20 pigeons but some have died.
“I was so hurt to lose some of my birds. I suspect they were attacked by a cruel rat. I want to have more birds and build a bigger house for them. When I have the birds with me I really feel at peace.”
Godfrey Ncube (50), who sells vegetables at the taxi rank, said: “I see the birds looking for food but didn’t know they belonged to him.”
