Hallo everyone, I have set up on my balcony a hanging bird feeder with home-made suet and sunflower seed balls. It is regularly visited by great tits, robins and (unfortunately) very hungry blackbirds. In the last week I have noticed a new visitor: a grey bird just slightly larger than a robin with a weird tail-flicking behaviour and a reddish undertail (which I can distinctly see when it opens its wings and hovers close to the feeder for a few quick pecks at the balls).
I googled it up and it looks exactly like a grey catbird. I live in Milan, Italy, and I take it this bird is American and has been rarely sighted in Europe, the last sighting being in the UK (Cornwall) in October this year (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-45888326). I have taken a few amateurish photographs with an old camera and I would like to have your opinion on what kind of bird it actually is.
Thanks!
Paolo
Hi Paolo and welcome to the Forum. I don't think we've had anyone from Italy on here before.
Not a Grey Catbird I'm afraid. It's a Black Redstart but an equally nice bird to have on your balcony.
Thank you so much for the identification (and for the warm welcome from the UK)!! I agree: it's an attractive bird although it's not "a celebrity".Do you know if it uses nesting boxes and what kind? Actually, there's a pair of them and I would like to lure them into nesting on the balcony.
This is our Black Redstart nesting box which we built from a design in a book. If you're interested I'll go & measure it up, but not today as very cold out there!
We have a male that comes to feed in winter & it loves dried mealworms.
Cazia said:I will try and get a photograph if I can.
I hope you do, I'm sure we will all be interested to see it.