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.

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?