What was the first instance in history where people owned birds as pets?

While livestock like chickens, ducks, and geese were domesticated in ancient societies, the first more well-known instance of people using birds as anything other than a farm animal was when ancient sailors used the birds to detect land. When they were unsure if land was ahead, they’d release the bird out of its cage and let it fly off. If there was no land, it would come back. If there was land, it would stay there.

The american civil war