Burmese Game
The Myanma Fighter

date: 2026-06-01

The Burmese Game is the fighting cock of Myanmar (Burma) — a large, heavily-built bird of South Asian derivation, closely related to the Asil but bred for the heavier, more decisive match typical of the Burmese pit.

Cultural Role

Cockfighting in Myanmar is legal and deeply embedded in the country’s festival culture. The principal season runs from November to May, coinciding with the dry season and the major pagoda festivals. Major matches — sometimes involving several hundred cocks — are held at festival grounds throughout the country, and the betting is conducted openly under regulation by the Myanmar Livestock Federation.

The Burmese bird is bred for power and endurance rather than for the speed and strike of the Thai or Filipino lines. The typical Burmese main is a long, drawn-out affair, decided by weight and gameness more than by quick cutting.

Distinctive Physical Traits

The Burmese Game is heavily built, broad-breasted, and intensely game. The comb is small and of the pea type; the wattles are reduced. Plumage runs to black-breasted red in the most traditional strains, with white, black, and spangled varieties. The legs are long and yellow; the bird carries a slight forward-tilt to its stance that is distinct from the more upright Asil.

Conservation

The Burmese Game is considered secure in its home range, where the active cockfighting tradition maintains strong breeding populations. Outside Myanmar, the breed is rare but stable in the hands of exhibition fanciers.