Sometimes, when my teenage son Eddie and I are watching some retro pop programme from the 1960s or 1970s, he asks me, in horror, “were they considered ‘cool’ ?” Of course, in the vast majority of cases, I assure him that, no, this or that band/artist can surely never be cool (think Peter Noone singing Bowie’s Oh! You Pretty Things!). But, others will always be cool (think Bowie himself, the Stones, the Beatles, the Who, the Kinks, Jimi Hendrix).
Anyhow, some birds will never be cool, while others can’t help it. For instance, the Chaffinch is a pretty thing, with a blue head, pink underparts, and a green rump; but it will never be ‘cool’.
The Bullfinch is cool. And the Crossbill is even cooler.
We don’t get many Crossbills…
