The owner of a goshawk normally found only in Central and South America is being urged to come forward after the animal was spotted in a Cornish village.
The British Trust for Ornithology confirmed that the bird seen over the past two days at Longrock, Penzance, was a Harris’s buzzard.
Mounts Bay Veterinary Centre, which posted about the bird on social media, said the animal had ankle straps, “leather straps used on birds of prey that are in training with their owners”.
RNAS Culdrose, which uses birds of prey as a deterrent at its Helston airfield, confirmed the goshawk was not theirs but that they had tried to rescue it “without success”.
According to the veterinary center, “someone must have missed it.”
A spokesman for the British Trust for Ornithology said the goshawk did not pose a significant threat to local wildlife.
“I am sure the owner will be looking for this bird and may be able to catch it,” they added.
Adam Ellis from St Justin Jewellery on the Longrock industrial estate said he had seen the bird and it looked like a “large eagle”.
“We’ve never seen anything like this here before,” he said. “We’re a little worried it’s gone somewhere.”
Colleague Alison Thomas said it “surprised us”, adding: “No-one has come forward to say they’re missing a bird, which is unusual. It’s such a wonderful bird, we just don’t want it to get hurt.”
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