Could it be a Canary?

I can see a tiny yellow bird at the very top of a house resting on the TV aerial in Matera in southern Italy. It’s very visible. It looks like a Siskin to me – or even a Canary. Then I wonder, where do Canaries come from? They must live wild somewhere, not just in tiny prison-like cages or deep underground in coal mines. I decide they must come from the Canary Islands and my mind wanders on.

What is it though? It’s some sort of tiny yellow finch.

Serin - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The Puffin Whisperer has an answer for me: it’s a Serin. A classic, noisy, confident Mediterranean finch. It’s not a Canary, but it is a relative. I wonder if it’s interfering with the TV signal?

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