Rare American bird touches down in England 'for first time', then gets run over and killed by car

It took a 3,000-mile detour, after getting blown off course en route to South America, before alighting in England's green and pleasant land.

But, sadly, the arrival of the American Common Nighthawk, which has never been seen before in this country is not a happy one.

The rare bird appears to have landed and then been promptly run over by a car in the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall. It was found by birdwatchers dead at the roadside.



They then took its remains to a local pub where it was given a rather unconventional post mortem examination on a pool table.

Pub manager Dave Chodkiewicz said: 'Some bird watchers picked it up dead and brought it into the club.

'It was examined on the pool table in the middle of the bar and identified it. I'd never seen anything like it before. They all gathered around like vultures.'