One of Britain’s largest and rarest birds which disappeared from the UK during the early 20th century has been spotted in Cornwall.

The White-tailed Eagle was pictured by amateur photographer Cat Lake on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, writes Lauren Beavis.

They are commonly known as 'flying barn doors' due to the sheer size of their two-metre wingspan.

South West Farmer: The White-tailed Eagle. Picture: Cat Lake Photography/Cornwall Wildlife Trust/SWNSThe White-tailed Eagle. Picture: Cat Lake Photography/Cornwall Wildlife Trust/SWNS

The juvenile spotted is one of six released on the Isle of Wight as part of a reintroduction programme run by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England.

Adult White-tailed Eagles are mostly brown, with a pale head and white tail and with long, broad wings and a short wedge tail.

The sighting gives conservationists from Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society hope that the species could breed in Cornwall within the next 20 years.

Other former breeding birds like choughs and cirl buntings have become re-established in Cornwall, showing the potential for previously-lost species to make a comeback.

Almost half of breeding birds have declined in Cornwall, as revealed in Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s State of Nature Cornwall 2020 Report.