A rare bird is once again soaring over the Kent coast after a 200-year absence.

Red-billed choughs - once extinct in the county - have been released over the White Cliffs of Dover as part of a major conservation programme.

They are a member of the crow family with glossy black plumage, red legs and a bright red beak – although it can appear orange on younger birds.

The chough was once native to Kent but became extinct in the county more than 200 years ago due to changing farming practices and persecution.

The release follows four years of work by Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust.

Laura Gardner, of Wildwood Trust, said: "Releasing the choughs into the wild felt a bit like sending your child to nursery for the first time – a wonderful milestone but not without a certain level of anxiety.

“We need to make sure they have all the relevant skills they need so they can not only survive but thrive.”

The released birds, which appear on the coat of arms of Canterbury, were hand-reared by the team at Wildwood, near Cantebury, but are ancestors of birds from Paradise Park in Cornwall, which runs a zoo-based breeding programme.

The chough reintroduction scheme is finally possible due to years of extensive restoration work on chalk grassland, prime chough habitat, across Kent.

According to legend, choughs gained their red beaks and feet after a crow flew into the Cathedral and paddled in the blood of the murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170.

Red-billed Choughs can also be seen at Dover Castle, after moving into a custom built aviary last year.

The four birds - named Becket, Eleanor, Vera and Pyrrho by the public – can be viewed up close by visitors.