Vermillion flycatcher

Birders are reporting a rare Kansas sighting of a small, bright red species known as the vermilion flycatcher.

The Kansas City Star reports that Rex Miller spotted the bird Monday at the Olathe park where he works. He then alerted other bird watchers who took photos to verify the sighting.

Johnson County Park and Recreation District field biologist Matt Garrett says the bird is “way out of his range,” which includes Mexico and the southwestern United States.

Birder Mary Nemecek likened the sighting to observing a monkey on the streets of Kansas City. Nemecek is a board member at the Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City.

Since birders started keeping track decades ago, the species has been sighted in Kansas and Missouri only 26 times.