Common Waxbill??

Such a smart little fellow deserves a finer name. It does sound better in Portuguese - bico de lacre - even though it means the same thing (used to think of it as lacquer beak).
 
Spent an irritating amount of time in the morning doing routine health tests, but the afternoon made up for it. I met my friend Julie at the Botanical Garden, where we saw a small but excellent exhibition on Brazil’s equivalent of Pathé News. Then a tasty snack at the café before proceeding into the garden itself. It wasn’t the best time of day for bird watching, and there’s little colour, plant-wise (my mother was always disappointed with the paucity of flowers), but there are always the views of the Corcovado (Christ Statue), through the avenue of Imperial palms and other trees. And the company couldn’t have been better. 
 
Only just made it back home in time to turn around and go out to our choir rehearsal.