The bird spotting community in Malta was quite excited when they spotted a bird that is not usually found in Malta.

As its name suggests, the Alpine Accentor is typically found flying near high altitude mountains, 2000 metres above sea level.

Yet, during the winter these tiny birds sometimes decided to venture to lower areas of rocky vegetation during winter, hence why it was spotted here in Malta.

When these beautiful birds decide to venture into our tiny little island, they’re usually found on the west coast cliffs of Malta.

The Alpine Accentor is very hard to spot as apart from not being usually found in Malta, they’re very small, measuring at around 17cm. They’re also commonly mistaken for the much commoner Dunnock. Thus, sometimes even though they’re spotted, people don’t always necessarily realise it.

Have you ever had the lucky chance of spotting one?