Familiar Chat - When Small Does Not Shy Away
Walking the garden last day of 2024, after midday this little bird watched me, watching it, stopping about five foot from where it was perched, appeared shy, but not bothered by my presence.
Unperturbed it bounced down to the water even closer to where I stood, this somewhat surprised me as most would fly away.
Apparently this dainty little bird is seen quite often the Familiar Chat - Oenanthe familiaris a bird of the old world fly catcher family.
On referencing within bird group whom I am a member, a person mentioned "If it flits it's wings and tail when it lands it is a Familiar Chat", while another said one followed her around the garden.
No stunning colours like some visitors to the garden, however the cute little face watching without hesitation to continue doing what it deemed fit in the time that it stayed. Now look at that cute tail feathering.
A plain gray-brown chat that has rusty ear patches and a rufous rump and outer tail feathers that outline an inverted black 'T' pattern on the tail. The juvenile is spotted and scaled buff. The species occurs in a broad range of habitats, but favors rocky areas, gullies, outcrops, and buildings, where it often perches conspicuously. It drops to the ground or into a bush to feed on invertebrates and frequently flicks both wings simultaneously and lifts its tail. Source
A chance encounter with a bird I would perhaps not have noticed at all had it not been so confident in standing it's ground to enjoy it's time in my bird bath...., note to self, requires a refill. Exceptionally hot time of the year many visitors to the pond splashing water or evaporation.
Research after previous post to obtain identification of bird that captured my imagination being brave.
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