A GREAT bustard, extinct in the British mainland since the early 1830s and last spotted on Fair Isle, Shetland, in 1970, has been seen in Dorset. The bird - the size of a turkey and unmistakable to those with even a rudimenatry knowledge of ornithology - was first seen by two men at Broadstone golf course near Poole.

Later it was seen by a farmer who contacted the local bird society and his knowledge of birds and his accurate description has convinced ornithologists that the siting was genuine. Now it has been reported on the birder's Internet.