Rare blue songbird spotted in Guernsey

An indigo bunting is thought to have been spotted in a private garden in St Martin

A blue songbird which was spotted in Guernsey may be "one of the rarest ever recorded in the Channel Islands" if it was wild, according to a local nature group.

The bird, which is suspected to be an indigo bunting, was seen in a private garden in St Martin's Parish, according to La Société Guernesiaise.

The bird, a male, has not been seen since but may be visiting gardens in the Jerbourg area.

Jamie Hooper, the group's conservation officer, said it was not possible to confirm the species for certain, as other non-local birds could look similar, but either way it had "no business being in Guernsey".

He said it was also possible the bird was an escaped pet.

Indigo buntings are a small, seed-eating bird native to central and north America and the Caribbean.

Sightings of the birds, which are about the size of small sparrow, are rare outside their normal habitat, but individuals have been seen as far away as Iceland, Germany and Serbia.

Indigo buntings normally live in the Americas