A BIRDWATCHER got a bit more than he ­bargained for when he had a surprise guest at his treetop feeder.

David Ramsay spotted the green-coloured parrot munching on the peanuts in his garden in Erskine.

The 58-year-old shouted to his son, Scott, 30, and young grandson Ryan, who rushed to window to catch a glimpse of the rare visitor.

David, who works as a service technician, said 10-year-old Ryan was ­fascinated by the brightly-coloured bird.

The grandad-of-three said: "I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, I had to do a double take.

"My son and grandson were up visiting and I said take a look and out tell me what you see.

"Ryan couldn't believe what he was seeing and neither could my son."

Keen amateur photographer David rushed to get some snaps of the parrot, which RSPB Scotland ­identified as a ring-necked or rose-ringed parakeet.

Originally from south Asia and central Africa, they were brought to the UK by people who kept them in aviaries. Inevitably, many of these pets ­escaped and came to live in the wild.

A spokesman from RSPB Scotland said there are quite a number of records of these birds that are now living perfectly well on their own in the wild in Scotland.

In London, hundreds of them live in the city parks where they are extremely visible and very vocal.

There are much fewer living in Scotland and they can compete for nesting territories with native species.

David, who has lived in his Erskine home for 23 years, spotted the parrot at around 11am on Sunday.

He said: "I have seen some unusual birds in the garden. I regularly see ­yellow hammers and woodpeckers as well as blue tits, grey tits and chaffinches.

"It is a popular feeder but I have never seen anything like a parrot.

"At first I thought it was a bird that had escaped from an aviary but now I am thinking it might have been a wild bird.

"I went outside to take pictures and when it saw me it flew away.

"If it was a bird from an aviary it would have probably been used to human beings."

Since its visit, David hasn't seen the bird again, but he is hopefully it will return to get some more food.

He said: "My guess is, if it knows there is food it will come back.

"It was having a right good gorge on the peanut feeder."

matty.sutton@ eveningtimes.co.uk