New rare bird spotted in US for first time ever

A rare bird native to Europe and Asia was spotted in North America for the first time ever, Fox News reported.

A teacher turned photographer from Washington managed to capture what experts believe to be the Blue Rock Thrush.

Michael Sanchez was snapping photos of a waterfall at Hug Point State Recreation Site at sunrise when he spotted the little bird on the sand.

He said, "I got all the pictures that I could of the waterfall, and then I just turned around and happened to see this little black bird."

Sanchez said he didn't think too much of the bird, but after reviewing his photos, he noticed that "the little black bird" was actually more colourful than he thought, blue with orange underparts, to be exact.

After posting his photos on social media, Sanchez quickly found out he had encountered something quite rare as birders from all over the country began contacting him.

They told Sanchez what he had photographed was "an extraordinarily rare bird, quite possibly the first sighting in the lower 48 states and one of only two sightings ever on the continent."

According to Tim Janzen, secretary of the Oregon Birding Records committee, how the blue rock thrush may have arrived in Oregon remains a mystery.