Ultra rare UK sighting of bird in Cotswolds first for 25 years

Twitchers have been travelling to the border with Gloucestershire in the hope to spot the rare bird.

It represents only the third British record of long-tailed shrike, with the first sighting only being in the Outer Hebrides in November 2000.

Also known as the rufous-backed shrike, the medium-sized predatory songbird is widely distributed across Asia.

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It is noted for its bold black facial mask and very long tail.

BirdGuides reports the bird was spotted in the UK on July 8, but its presence was kept quiet until July 18.

Birdwatchers were able to locate the shrike on July 19 and it has remained on view ever since, attracting hundreds of people to flock.

Josh Jones of BirdGuides said: “This is a truly extraordinary inland occurrence of what is an extremely rare visitor to Europe from Asia.

“There have only been about 15 European records ever.

“As discussed on the latest episode of the BirdGuides Podcast, long-tailed shrike is one of the rarest species ever to be recorded in Britain and, following the first, almost 26 years had passed without a repeat occurrence.

“On Friday’s episode of the pod, I described the Fife long-tailed shrike as a ‘once in a generation’ rarity.

“It’s typical, then, that another one turned up the very next day. For two to show up in Britain in short succession is completely unexpected.”