Birds are full of surprises

HAVING a bird table and bird feeders outside a window, as I do, is undoubtedly beneficial to the birds outside and fascinating for the person inside.

But it’s an unnatural set up. It concentrates birds of several species together in a small area in a way that’s unlikely to happen in the wild.

But there is a plus side to this, at least for the person inside. Over a period of time you begin to notice things about the differences in character between the birds — maybe not individual birds, unless some of them have rings on their legs or other distinguishing features — but certainly between different species. I’m tempted to say that each species develops a personality, but personality is a dangerous word because it’s very easy to slide into anthropomorphism when you’re watching wild creatures.