This rare bearded vulture has been spotted in the UK for only the second time

A rare bird spotted swooping through the skies of the Peak District is one of the largest wild birds ever seen in the UK.

Hundreds of birdwatchers descended upon Hope Valley, near Sheffield, after a bearded vulture was seen over Howden Moor.

The bird is larger than the famous golden eagle, and has only been spotted in the UK once before, when another of the species - also known as a lammergeier - from the alpine population was seen over Dartmoor four years ago.

Why is it so rare?

The bird is native to continental Europe, although even there they had been hunted to near extinction by the early 20th century. The bearded vulture has been classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species as being near threatened.

They remain common in Africa (the species is most common in Ethiopia) and the Indian subcontinent, and in the 1980s they were successfully reintroduced to the French Alps, with over 200 birds released there between 1987 to 2015.

It is thought the bird seen in the Peak District originated from there, and experts believe the vulture may have been blown off course during bad weather.