Indian and foreign birds being sold at the Galiff Street market. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta On any given Sunday, the quiet Galiff Street, off Bagbazar, comes alive with twitterings and chirps. Rows of cages containing plumed pets of various shades, both desi and foreign, are lined up on either side of the road. At one place, a huge billboard pleads with people to free caged birds. But no one pays any attention to it. Though the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972 bans the capture and trading of 1,200 types of indigenous birds, the Galiff Street market flouts most rules in the book, trading in almost all kinds of desi varieties in broad daylight. Alongside exotic foreign breeds, like the rosella and Java sparrow (buying and sale of which is not illegal), the Galiff Street market teems with banned Indian species, like the hill mynah, rose-ringed parakeet, red munia, Asian koel, pheasants, pigeons and finches (zebra, gouldian and long-tailed varieties). Pets like rabbits, Guinea pigs, dogs and ornamental fish are also sold in this market, but the bird sale accounts for about half of the Rs 10-lakh business conducted every Sunday. The price range is wide