A TRIO of intrepid birds from North Yorkshire are helping scientific sleuths solve the mystery of the disappearing cuckoos.

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, they have been sent on an international mission following in the path of the missing birds.

And it is hoped the information they beam back will help explain why the iconic species is vanishing from large parts of the UK.

The cuckoo has shown an alarming decline over the last 25 years, with the most shocking losses being found in England.

Almost three-quarters of English breeding cuckoos have been lost while in Scotland they are doing much better, increasing by three per cent in just over a decade.

Over the last four years scientists at the British Trust for Ornithology have been following the birds as they make their way to and from Africa and have identified two distinct southerly migration routes.

Now they need to know which route birds from northern England take and whether that differs east and west of the Pennines.

To find out cuckoos from either side of the Pennines have been fitted with special satellite tags, three of them from North Yorkshire.

They were tagged at RAF Fylingdales on the North York Moors – which itself monitors the satellites that will be tracking the journey of the birds.

And one has been already named by staff as Vigilamus - after the station motto which aptly means “We are watching.”

Lead scientist Dr Chris Hewson said: “The cuckoo project has now entered a very exciting phase.

“We now know more about the general routes that our birds take to get to central Africa, and how they use different sites as staging posts.

“But we are now completing our knowledge of what cuckoos from different parts of the UK do and how this might be affecting populations in different areas.”

All of the new birds can be followed as they make their way south on the BTO website, revealing their choice of route for the first time.

To follow and sponsor your favourite bird bto.org