Another bird enthusiast, Paul, who did not give his last name, said it was his first sighting of the species in nearly five decades of birding.

The American Bird Conservancy says the scarlet tanager’s song is often described as “like a robin with a cold.”

The BirdGuides website said on X that the sighting would be the first in Yorkshire.

“Never before seen in Yorkshire, the first winter male scarlet tanager is only the eighth UK record and the first since 2014,” the statement said.

Male breeding birds have bright red bodies with black wings and tails, while females and young birds have yellowish-green bodies, according to Cornell University’s All About Birds website.

It says it is usually the duller, yellowish birds that are spotted in the UK, having been blown away by storms during their migration south in autumn.