Rainbow lorikeet escapes Colchester Zoo after landing on visitor

Visitors can buy a small drink to feed the lorikeets in their bird house

A bird escaped from a zoo after it landed on a visitor as they walked out its enclosure.

The rainbow lorikeet made a break from Colchester Zoo in Heckfordbridge, Essex, on Saturday at 01:00 GMT.

It was last seen in the trees opposite the zoo's nature area and keepers cleared the scene and climbed ladders to try and entice the bird down.

A spokesperson for Colchester City Council said it would offer support in any way it could to help find the bird.

A rainbow lorikeet, like the one pictured, was last seen in trees near the zoo

The bird is a species of parrot commonly found in Australia.

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A spokesperson for the zoo said: "We put all remaining birds in their outside enclosure so that she could hopefully hear their vocalisations and return, and also left a crate and nectar out overnight, but she didn't come back.

"Staff remain on watch today and we will continue to do everything we can to get the lorikeet back safely."