Wagtail battles itself in award-winning photo

You talking to me? This grey wagtail is squaring up to itself in a car's wing mirror, demonstrating how highly territorial its species can be.

The photograph, taken by Robin Orrow, won the Animal Behaviour category in this year's British Wildlife Photography Awards.

The image shows a momentary flurry of activity, but took much effort to capture after Orrow noticed the bird attacking his car's wing mirror in front of his house.

"He was clearly defending his territory against what he thought was a rival," Orrow says. "Every time he attacked, it took a split second, and then he finished off with a quick poo on my car."

Orrow, an amateur wildlife photographer, didn't let the bird's filthy finishing touch put him off the opportunity to capture a stunning image. He set up a portable hide and even moved the vehicle to get the light right. He then took several hundred shots over a period of nearly two days before the bird lost interest in its reflection.

The grey wagtail's efforts were equally fruitful, Orrow says – the bird went on to successfully rear a clutch of little ones.

Spotify Connect Will Make Your Music-Listening Life Easier

Spotify announced a new feature called Spotify Connect that lets you control your music listening across devices without interruption. For example, if you’re listening on your phone, you can easily switch over to your living room speakers or your tablet with the tap of a button. The company has partnered with some manufacturers to ensure this kind of experience is a possibility.

You’ll soon be able to use speakers and home audio systems from Argon, Bang & Olufsen, Denon, Hama, Marantz, Philips, Pioneer, Revo, Teufel and Yamaha, and other as of yet unannounced brands, who are working to offer this functionality. You’ll see a Spotify Connect logo on compatible systems.
“Thanks to Spotify Connect, you won’t need to rely on unstable connections to stream music between your devices,” says Spotify. “No longer will incoming phone calls, loss of signal range, or watching a video spoil the party. Unlike other wireless music solutions, using Spotify Connect won’t drain your battery. Plus you can continue to use your phone or tablet to call friends or start playing your favourite game without missing a beat.”
“Today, listening to music at home can be a frustrating experience – dropouts, below-par audio quality, signal range and phone restrictions, battery drainage, it’s basically a hassle,” says Spotify VP Product Management Sten Garmark. “Spotify Connect solves this by giving you effortless control of your music across your phone, tablet and now speakers with millions of songs built right in.”
The feature will roll out to Spotify Premium members on iPhone, iPad and home audio systems over the coming months, with Android devices and desktop support later.