5 September 2016
A bird native to the Galapagos
Islands in the South Pacific has been found thousands of miles from home.
The red-footed booby was
discovered in "an exhausted state" on the beach at St Leonards,
Sussex, on Sunday afternoon.
The seabird, which is related to
the gannet and believed to be a juvenile, was washed ashore with its feathers
in a poor state and slightly underweight.
It is currently being cared for
at the RSPCA Mallydams Wood centre in Hastings.
The bird was rescued by the East
Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service (WRAS) following a call from a
member of the public.
Founder Trevor Weeks said:
"It's an absolutely stunning bird.
"It was looking extremely
exhausted, just sitting on the beach.
"Hopefully it will be
released back to the wild."
He added: "As far as I can
tell, one has never been found in the wild in the UK before.
"From what we gather, one
did visit Spain a few years ago, but we can't find many other references to
these birds visiting Europe at all."
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