A stunned pensioner discovered a rare tropical bird living in his freezing garden – 5,000 miles from its natural habitat.
Mike Stiff, 76, spotted the California quail on his snow-covered lawn in Grundisburgh, Suffolk.
He showed the picture to a bird-spotting pal who explained the non-migrating creature is only native to the US and other tropical climes.
But instead of being put off by Britain’s icy weather the quail has set-up home in Mike’s garden – and has started scaring off all the other birds.
Mike, a retired businessman, said: “At first I thought it was a Partridge but then I spotted the crest on the top of its head.
“I called a twitcher friend in the village who confirmed it was a California quail.”
A spokesman at the RSPB said they think the bird is a privately kept pet which has escaped.
