Starling

Today's the day ........................ to mimic

I was walking along the bank of the River Tarff today when I heard the call of a chiffchaff from the other side of the river.  It's always a lovely thing to hear because it is so distinctive - and it means that spring is really here with the arrival of this little bird back on the scene.

It wasn't long before I heard another one - this time on my side of the river - and quite close by.  I stood listening to it and eventually pinned it down to the top branches of a nearby tree.  I zoomed in with my camera to take a picture of it.  But as soon as I did, I knew right away it wasn't a chiffchaff because it was too big and it had the wrong shape of beak.  As you can see from the above, it was actually a starling, doing a very good impression of a chiffchaff!

Apparently, they are very good imitators of all kinds of noises including other birds.  Here's one in full flow .........................