Nightingale Song by Starling

When out with my better half the other day, I stopped and raised my hand to stop the conversation we were having, fortunately she knows me well enough to know that its not intended to be rude. There was a bird singing that just seemed odd. Or at least out of place. It was one that I thought I recognised but I needed to listen to my bird song CDs to see if I could identify it.

Then the following day, as the BBC has a programme on the radio called Saving Species, there was the call again. It appeared that I/We had heard a Nightingale. However, it was late afternoon, and Nightingales don't normally sing at that time. So while I was sure that was the song I heard, was it really a Nightingale?

Locally there are few people I can turn to regarding bird song, as while some people know the common birds, there are not many that know some of the rarer species. Additionally as I did not have a recording of the song we had heard, I had no record to get someone to verify.

But, going for another walk today, after a long day, I saw a chap with binoculars. I vaguely recognise him, yet greeting him he pointed out a starling that had been singing. Not his own song but that of a Nightingale. Starlings are good mimics and it had fooled him too, so the mystery solved, but as we talked we agreed that it had to have learnt that from a Nightingale so could there be one in the woods? Well if I can find the time, perhaps I will find out.