A LARGE bird has taken up residency on a golf course.

A Rhea, which is a long necked bird that is slightly smaller than an Emu was spotted wondering around Evesham golf course at the Weekend and is still there.

Ryan Cleary from Evesham Golf Club said: "He is not causing any problems, we are all quite happy to let him stay here, he just wonders around all the golfers. He is very relaxed."

The bird has been missing from its original home for around 12 days.

Mr Cleary said the RSPCA are unable to do anything because the bird is not in distress, and the owner of the Rhea who lives in Harvington knows he is on the golf course and is "quite happy for him to be here."

There is uncertainty over how the Rhea came to be on the golf course. Mr Cleary said: "We believe the police had him and by the sounds of it, they chucked it into a secure field and this is the secure field."

"We did some research online to see what they eat and he seems quite happy eating grubs, bits of brush, berries and worms, there is plenty of that around. He seems quite happy picking."

The bird does not seem to be aggressive and is happy around people.

Rheas are native to South America and are distantly related to the ostrich and emu. There were formerly two, but now three recognized species of Rhea. They are ratites, which means they are large flightless birds with no keel to their breastbone or sternum.