Dozens of bird watchers mass on Yorkshire club’s green to snap rare African hoopoe

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Cricket TWITCH! Dozens of bird watchers mass on Yorkshire club’s green to snap African hoopoe that that’s not been seen in area for 40 years

  • Delighted ornithologists were spotted piling on to the pitch at Collingham in West Yorkshire to see the bird
  • The hoopoe, named after its soft ‘hoop hoop’ call, was probably blown off course from south Europe to Africa
  • Only 100 visit the UK annually, usually in the south, and one hasn’t been seen in Yorkshire for 40 years

By Isabella Nikolic For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

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Dozens of birdwatchers descended on to a Yorkshire village cricket club after hearing that a rare hoopoe bird had moved there. 

Delighted ornithologists were spotted piling on to the pitch at Collingham in West Yorkshire, as the tiny exotic-looking bird, native to Africa and Asia, hunted for worms.

With the cricket season over, it has become a star attraction in the bird-watching community.

The hoopoe, named after its soft ‘hoop hoop’ call, was probably blown off course from south Europe and should be heading to an African hotspot by now for winter.

Only 100 visit the UK annually, usually in the south, and one hasn’t been seen in this part of Yorkshire for 40 years. 

Local Simon Moody commented: ‘Possibly the greatest living thing to grace a Yorkshire cricket pitch since Geoff Boycott. Collingham Hoopoe, take a bow!’

Delighted ornithologists were spotted piling on to the pitch at Collingham in West Yorkshire, as the tiny exotic-looking bird, native to Africa and Asia, hunted for worms

The hoopoe, named after its soft 'hoop hoop' call, was probably blown off course from south Europe and should be heading to an African hotspot by now for winter

The hoopoe, named after its soft ‘hoop hoop’ call, was probably blown off course from south Europe and should be heading to an African hotspot by now for winter

Only 100 visit the UK annually, usually in the south, and one hasn't been seen in this part of Yorkshire for 40 years

Only 100 visit the UK annually, usually in the south, and one hasn’t been seen in this part of Yorkshire for 40 years

Local Simon Moody commented: 'Possibly the greatest living thing to grace a Yorkshire cricket pitch since Geoff Boycott. Collingham Hoopoe, take a bow!'

Local Simon Moody commented: ‘Possibly the greatest living thing to grace a Yorkshire cricket pitch since Geoff Boycott. Collingham Hoopoe, take a bow!’

The hoopoe is an exotic-looking bird with black and white patterned wings, a long curved beak and a long feathered crest which it raises when excited

The hoopoe is an exotic-looking bird with black and white patterned wings, a long curved beak and a long feathered crest which it raises when excited