Sound advice spotting birds

MINUTES into ITV's latest crime drama and a mystery unfurled as intriguing as the case facing Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.

- Stuart Winter

The first commercial break saw the RSPB's new primetime advert unveiled and must have had every bird-loving viewer bamboozled.

On screen there perched a starling in all its spotted finery.

Vibrating through the TV speakers was the liquid song of a blackbird. One for a bloopers show?

A call to the RSPB soon solved the whodunnit. Yes, an ingenious starling was the culprit with an intriguing piece of deception, using vocal skills to not only mimic a blackbird but also steal calls from a buzzard, lapwing and an oystercatcher.