THE residents of sleepy Oakland Park South would reasonably expect to enjoy their Sunday bacon and eggs with the sound of nothing more exotic than the gentle cooing of pigeons in the background.

Which meant that last weekend — when they opened their windows to the sound of a 3ft-high "national bird of Nigeria" booming in the warm summer air — it was all the more unexpected.

MAKING FRIENDS: Keira Ridgeway strokes the West African Crane found in Oakland Park South, Sticklepath.

The astonishing creature, later identified as a West African Crowned Crane, was perched on a rooftop in the Barnstaple street, mainly trying to avoid attacks from territorial seagulls.

Natasha Horrell particularly enjoyed seeing the beast, and sent some pictures to the Journal.

She said that once the crane had swooped to ground level, it happily pottered about and local children enjoyed petting the apparently-tame bird.

Meanwhile, Diana Lewis, from the North Devon Animal Ambulance, was called in to help.

She took the crane, which needs a specialist diet and lots of space, to the RSPB centre at West Hatch, near Taunton, where it will receive expert care.

Diana said the bird was tagged, and it was hoped its owner, as yet unknown, could be traced.

She also advised people to not stroke heron-like birds — not least because they are liable to attempt to peck out your eyeballs.

According to the International Crane Foundation, the West African Crowned Crane is found in a region extending from Senegal to Chad.

A population in Nigeria, where it is recognised as the "national bird", has been reduced to just a few individuals, the Foundation reports.

In addition to their guttural booms, the birds, which at adulthood weigh as much as a human newborn, are also able to produce distinctive honking noises.

Barely a month ago, another African bird, this one much smaller than the crane, with shocking blue and purple feathers, was found scratching around in a Fremington carpark.

The RSPB said the Fremington bird was a Cape Glossy Starling, native to South Africa, not the south west of England, and the bird was almost certainly an escapee from a local collection.

The starlings are often kept as pets, like parrots, because of their stunning looks.

● Have you lost a 3ft tall West African Crowned Crane? Please call us on 01271 347438.