The male Goldcrest was fascinated and worried in equal measure by the reflection in the car windowIt looks like this male Goldcrest has been caught in an act of vanity, checking himself out in the mirror. But instead of gazing at his own reflection the territorial bird thought he had a rival.
And so convinced was the worried Goldcrest that his patch in Sussex had been invaded he spent several minutes flying between windows to chase the intruder off.
The bird even occasionally pecked at the reflection in the car window in a fruitless bid to scare away its own shadow. Wildlife photographer Richard Peters, who took the pictures from a friend's garden, said:
'It's the sort of behaviour you are likely to see in the spring time when the male birds are defensive.
The bird flew between different windows of the car trying to chase its shadow
The Goldfinch looked like it had been caught red-handed checking out its own shadow
The worried bird even resorted to pecking at its own reflection before eventually flying off'(They) want to see off any intruders that might take over their patch and steal the females.
'Although I've seen plenty of chaffinches do it I've not seen a Goldcrest do it before.'
source: dailymail
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