Residents across the Island have been surprised by an unusual sighting in their gardens.Hundreds of yellow-billed cuckoos are now here, driven from the US East Coast by rain and strong winds.Audubon Society president Andrew Dobson said the organisation had received many questions about the “unusual bird in my garden”.In almost all cases, the “unusual bird” was identified as a yellow-billed cuckoo.The birds’ presence is the result of Hurricane Ophelia, and a strong weather front off the US East Coast that brought heavy rain at the beginning of the week, Mr Dobson said.The cuckoos have been spotted across the Island, with possibly “several hundred” here at the moment ten birds were sighted in one tree in St George’s alone, he said."This species of bird is fairly common in the Eastern half of the US where it breeds in woodlands and streamside trees. Although numbers rise and fall with insect outbreaks, there has been a fall in the number of birds over the last 50 years, probably due to habitat loss. Some birds migrate as far south as Argentina.“The birds that have arrived in Bermuda should find plenty of insects, especially caterpillars but they shouldn't really be here in Bermuda at all. Many will hopefully continue south with breezy northeasterly winds forecast for the next few days.”lMeanwhile, a longtail blown off-course by Tropical Storm Irene is to be stuffed and showcased at New York’s American Museum of Natural History the setting of the “Night in the Museum” movies.Birder Robert DeLuca found the dead animal on a Long Island beach in the summer.An article in the Riverhead News-Review said he was able to identify it by its distinctive tail.Mr DeLuca had previously only seen the bird in pictures.He delivered the preserved longtail to the museum collection manager Paul Sweet had put out an earlier request for rare birds in the wake of the August storm.According to Mr DeLuca, the last time a longtail was seen further North than Bermuda was in 1954, after Hurricane Carol.