Some birds of Italy

Yellow-legged Gull on Caesar head, Rome

I went with my family to Rome and Naples. It was not a birding trip. But...

Villa Borghese Park, Rome

The day we arrived I sat under a tree at Villa Borghese and listened to birds while everyone else was back in the room sleeping.

Pigeon, Fontana del Pantheon, Rome

Prominent birds of Rome: pigeons, gulls, screaming swifts,

Hooded Crow, Palatine Hill, Rome

And, of course, crows.

European Serin, Pompeii

Serin dominated Pompeii, singing on the wing like tiny yellow low-flying skylarks.

European Blackbird (female), Naples Archeological Museum

We had a place in a rather gardeny area of Naples. The dawn chorus (jet lag has its advantages) was amazing. The recording below is an iPhone voice memo version of what I could hear.

Lots of museum bird art, but the image below was my favorite.

I'm pretty sure it's a cartoon little grebe (known locally as "tuffetto"), though goldeneye is plausible. Why a little grebe? I wish I knew.