A rare visitor to the Isle of Man has been seen for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.

This shorelark was first spotted on the foreshore west of Point of Ayre lighthouse on November 2 - and has been present on the same beach ever since.

There have been only a handful of sightings ever recorded in the island, the last record being of three birds back in January 2000.

The distinctive bird has yellow and black face markings and adult males have black 'horns' - feather tufts - which give rise to its alternative name of horned lark.

Shorelarks breed in the mountains of Scandinavia and on the Arctic tundra and are winter visitors to the UK, arriving in October and November and departing again in March or April.

In the British Isles they are usually only found on shingle beaches along the east coast.

Regular winter haunts are the beaches of North Norfolk - which closely resemble those of the northern Manx coastline.

In the UK, shorelark numbers can vary from one winter to the next, with a few hundred present in the best years.