An extremely rare bird has been spotted in Norfolk for just the third time in history.

The Black-headed Bunting was seen by Sue Bignell on Monday in her garden in Cromer.

Mrs Bignell grabbed her camera to take a picture of the colourful bird to find out what it was.

After posting it on a site for bird watchers, she discovered it was the rare bird, which has only been spotted in the county a handful of times.

Mrs Bignell, 54, said the bird had probably been blown off course and landed in her garden for a feed.

She said: 'I looked in my bird books for this bird but could not see it so put it on Facebook and asked the Norfolk Countryside Photos site if anyone knew what it was.

'Everything went manic after that. Everyone was so excited and I was thrilled that I had managed to capture this beautiful bird on film.'

Click here to see a bird spotted in Norfolk which had been extinct in England for more than 200 years

Cley birdwatcher Richard Porter confirmed it was a male Black-headed Bunting rarely seen in this country.

He said: 'In Britain it there are just over 200 records of this bird being seen. It is an exciting find'

Click here to see a rare winter visitor in Great Yarmouth

The bird breeds in southeast Europe to Iran and migrates in winter mainly to India and parts of Asia.

In summer it can occasionally be spotted as far north as Norway.