SONGBIRD

Every morning I am serenaded by the fluid songs of blackbirds and other birds. I don't know whether they are singing, "This is my patch!" or, "I'm sexy, come and get me!" or even, "Oh what a beautiful morning!" but I rarely see them.

They are usually perched in the pepper trees, whose feathery leaves shift in the slightest movement of air and disguise any fluttering of wings.

They are in bloom at the moment, too, which adds to the density as well as to the perfume - think green pepper sauce without the cream.


But this morning I had passed those birds and ducked under the pepper trees, collecting floral confetti in my hair as I went, and I was on a tree-less stretch of pavement when a wonderful song poured over me.

I looked up and there he was - the tiniest speck on the fence round a tennis court on top of a row of garages - singing fit to burst.
He must be a mature bird to have perfected such a wonderful sound, but how can this minute creature produce such volume?


This was the closest close-up I could get with my small camera - he's clearly not a blackbird - wrong colour and too small - can anyone identify him?