Messengers to the Ancestors' Spirits

I'm not sure that I have the legend straight, but when I saw these little birds in cages at the stupa on top of the hill which dominates this small city, I knew that the practise was to buy them and release them. This could be for luck or as I chose to think, to carry messages to the spirit world. As they went fluttering away, I knew that they would indeed tell Mom and Dad, that their middle daughter is well and happy in Luang Prabang.