Ray Harinarain moved to New York City from Guyana in the 1980s. He brought a local hobby with him: Competitive finch singing. Harinarain and his competitors breed finches, then bring them to local parks for sing-offs (male finches naturally compete, through song, with each other). Judges count each time a finch misses a note, and the first finch to reach 50 dropped notes loses. Although the four-minute video from the New York Times doesn't explicitly say so, it appears the main benefit of winning is bragging rights.

This is a real thing. And it's frankly pretty adorable. Enjoy: