A migratory bird has caused alarm in a village in south-eastern Turkey after locals mistook it for an Israeli spy.

Villagers' suspicions were aroused when the bird, a common European bee-eater, was found dead in a field with a metal ring around its leg stamped "Israel". They called the police after deciding its nostrils were unusually large and may have carried a microchip fitted by Israeli intelligence for spying.

It was taken to government experts for examination and declared safe.