An Egyptian vulture spotted on the Isles of Scilly, off the southwest coast of England, would be the first of its species to be detected in the UK in the last 150 years, the BBC reported today.
The bird was photographed the previous day on St Mary’s before it was seen flying towards Tresco, two of the inhabited islands in the archipelago under the jurisdiction of the county of Cornwall.
If confirmed as a wild Egyptian vulture, it would be the first reported in the country for 150 years or more, ecologist Stuart Bearhop of the University of Exeter told the television station.
According to the BBC, the last two official UK sightings of the rare species, which usually inhabits North Africa, southern Spain and northern France, data from 1825 and 1868, in Somerset and Essex respectively.
The British Rare Bird Committee will be responsible for identifying the species photographed on the Isles of Scilly, and it will then be up to the Ornithological Union’s Records Committee to verify the veracity of the sighting.
This is just one of many cases of animals that have reappeared in areas completely alien to their natural habitat. Would you believe that by a process of adaptation animals migrate to different areas, or is it simply for survival that they hide from humans? Tell us about your point of view in the comments!