An unusually big-beaked blue tit has become a regular visitor to a couple's garden - who have nicknamed it Pinocchio.

Photographer and keen birdwatcher Phil Pickin captured the bird as it

An unusually big-beaked blue tit has become a regular visitor to a couple's garden - who have nicknamed it Pinocchio.

Photographer and keen birdwatcher Phil Pickin captured the bird as it feasted on live meal worms in his garden.

The bird has become a regular visitor to his and wife Joanne's home in Shrewsbury, Shrops.

Phil, 59, says he nicknamed the bird after the famous Disney character because of its rare oversized beak - which is more than twice the size of a regular blue tit.

'Pinocchio' the blue tit eating from a garden bird feeder despite having an oversized beak

Full-time photographer Phil is currently having to shoot wildlife images at home as a way to stay entertained while saying indoors due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Phil, who is married to Joanne, 55, said: 'He's a regular visitor to the garden, but I didn't even notice his beak was deformed until I looked at the pictures.

'I'm quite keen on watching birds and putting out food for them. He seems to be managing to eat fine.

'I nicknamed him because of the deformity to the upper mandible of his beak.. It was very unusual to see. It looks like he has a long nose - just like Pinocchio.

'I looked on the British Trust for Ornithology website and although it is not completely unheard of it's not particularly common. It certainly is rare.

'They don't know why it happens, its a bit of a mystery, but it can happen to a number of species of birds, not just blue tits.

'I've seen it before at my old house but it was nowhere near as long and defined as this. He is a unique character and I'm glad it doesn't appear to cause him any issues.

'I was quite happy to frame and capture these shots. In one picture he looks a bit sinister as if he's saying, 'Why are you watching me?'

'But I'm sure he was grateful of the food I put out. We get lots of visitors to our garden but none of them look quite like Pinocchio.'

"Pinocchio" the blue tit eating from a garden bird feeder despite having an oversized beak

A typical Eurasian Blue Tit (cyanistes caeruleus) with a normal sized beak

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) say beak deformities in wild birds are unusual, with fewer than one in 200 adult birds thought to be affected.

A spokesperson: 'A number of probable reasons for beak deformities have been suggested, but in many cases exact causes are unknown in the UK and Ireland.

'Exposure to environmental contaminants, such as industrial pollutants, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, have been implicated with beak deformities but evidence to support this more widely is not well established.'