Sir Paul McCartney goes birdwatching between shows.

Nancy Shevell and Paul McCartney

Nancy Shevell and Paul McCartney

The 'Blackbird' singer - who named his post-Beatles band with his late-wife Linda, Wings - is a keen ornithologist and during his downtime on his current 'Freshen Up Tour', he and his wife Nancy Shevell have turned their hands to a spot of wildlife observation.

The 76-year-old music legend and 59-year-old businesswoman were in their element in Park Sao Paulo in Brazil earlier this week, as they got to see 36 different types of bird.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It was a wonderful way to chill out."

Brazil is one of McCartney's favourite places as he always returns their when he's touring the globe and his latest album 'Egypt Station', which was released last year, even features the track 'Back in Brazil'.

As well as 'Blackbird' from the seminal 1968 Beatles record 'The White Album', the 'Hey Jude' songwriter has a track called 'Bluebird' on Wings' 1973 LP 'Band on the Run' and 'Jenny Wren' appears on his 13th solo record 'Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'.

McCartney previously admitted he is a bird-lover because he thinks they are "symbolic of freedom", whilst he revealed birdwatching has been a pastime of his from a young age, having grown up on the "outskirts" of Liverpool.

Speaking in 2008, he said: "I've always liked birds. It's a theme of mine. I think they're symbolic of freedom, of flying away.

"As a kid, I was a keen ornithologist and had a little pocket book, the Observer's Book Of Birds.

"I lived on the outskirts of Liverpool and could walk just a mile to be in quite deep countryside."

The 'FourFiveSeconds' hitmaker also revealed that he is highly superstitious when it comes to magpies, but that he's "very inspired" by the black and white feathered creatures, which many see as an annoyance.

He said: "Living in the country, I see a lot of them. "You see one and you spit or salute. I happen to spit. "I love it when you see two for joy.

"I don't shoot or catch them like a lot of people. "They're not supposed to be good for other songbirds and a lot of keen gardeners don't like them, but I do. "I've got lots. To me, it's double joy or triple joy.

"I'm very inspired on a spring morning if I see a crowd of eight."

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