Country diary: Redstarts are a master of the cover version | Mark Cocker

Deep Dale, Derbyshire: Their incredible persistence as a songbird is matched only by their gift for mimicryIt was at this Plantlife reserve five years ago that I first realised how common redstarts, among our most beautiful summer migrants, are also astonishing vocal mimics.Understanding of the subject has been patchy, which is strange, given that as long ago as 1845 William Yarrell noted how males closely imitate the notes of the sparrow and chaffinch, and the songs of the garden warbler and lesser whitethroat. I can confirm three of those species. He reported that a Mr Sweet had trained his captive redstart to reproduce the Copenhagen Waltz! Continue reading...