AN incredibly rare bird has been spotted just outside York.

The rare hoopoe bird, was photographed in Stamford Bridge in East Yorkshire, by Simon Abbott.

As The T&A reported four year ago a similar bird was spotted possibly for first time in 40 years near Wetherby.

On that occasion our Camera Club members were out in force to capture the historic moment: sightings of the exotic hoopoe bird in Yorkshire.

With its pinkish-brown body, distinctive black and white wings, long, black, downcurved bill and a long pinky-brown crest which it raises when it gets excited, the hoopoe is a sight to behold.

According to the RSPB, it doesn't breed in the UK, and only about 100 might turn up in the UK each year - normally on the South Coast in spring when they are migrating north from Africa to Europe and offshoot and end up in England. They tend to be solitary birds.

They have been spotted in Scotland, but that is rare - and it is thought the recent sightings in the York area are rarer still.

The rare hoopoe bird, was photographed in Stamford Bridge in East YorkshireThe rare hoopoe bird, was photographed in Stamford Bridge in East Yorkshire (Image: Simon Abbott)