STAFF at a falconry centre have proved that you can teach an old bird new tricks - and remind it of one it had forgotten.

Captain Beaky is an Australian kookaburra which is wowing visitors with a new stunt - taking food from the mouth of falconer Ben Potter while on the wing.

And thanks to a couple of new arrivals at Falconry UK at Sion Hill Hall near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, the bird has also rediscovered how to make the sound it is famous for.

Captain Beaky had quite forgotten how to make the noise, which is a distinctive, human-like laugh.

But the centre recently acquired a new pair of kookaburras in the hope of starting a breeding programme - and their calls have encouraged the Captain to chuckle once more.

"The Captain is hugely popular, especially with the children, and we are delighted he has learnt to laugh again," said spokesman Ian Ashton yesterday.

"It's quite a loud and distinctive laugh, but it's a nice noise to hear."