Returning from my early morning walk today I set about preparing breakfast, and while waiting for the kettle to boil I stood staring out into the back garden. My attention was suddenly focused by the arrival of a Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochuros), its rufous rump unmistakeable as it bobbed along the ground and onto the recently tilled vegetable patch. Struck by its jerking head movements I realized that it had come down to earth in order to devour the prey it must have just plucked from the air. In its beak it held a large white butterfly, the wings of which fluttered on either side of the bird’s head like an enormous snowy moustache. I watched transfixed as the whiteness was swallowed up and the bird regained its poise, all in an eternity of seconds. Then, as suddenly as it had arrived, it was gone, making one more orange salute as it spread its tail feathers in flight.