Unmasking of my car park singer

A MULTISTOREY car park makes a gloomy stage for one of nature's rarely observed performances.

- Stuart Winter

Somehow, above the screeching tyres and the echoey clatter of shopping trolleys, a jolly jingle was ringing out over the regimented rows of parked vehicles to bring a sense of spring joy.

There was a familiarity about the repeated chirps delivered with all the gusto of a supermarket announcer, but the verses of tinkling notes between each chorus had me flummoxed.

Suddenly, with a flutter of wings and waggle of a preposterously long tail, the mystery crooner, like in the popular TV show, was unmasked to reveal a glorious male pied wagtail in spring finery.