A GLOBE-TROTTING British schoolgirl has become the youngest birdwatcher in the world to spot 5,000 different species.

Dedicated ornithologist Mya-Rose Craig, 16, has travelled the world with her parents spotting, recording and ticking off different types of bird.

The teenage twitcher made her 5,000th spot - a Rock Bunting - at Castillo Del Loarre, in North Spain during a half-term trip to Spain on Monday.

Mya, from Compton Martin, Somerset, has been bird watching with her family since she was just a few months old.

She has travelled the length and breadth of Britain finding and spotting hundreds of different birds.

When she was four years old her mother, Helena Craig, decided that she was old enough to start counting birds on her own.

Twelve years on, the teenager has visited 38 countries over seven continents, including Australia, Egypt, and several trips to the Amazon, in a quest to tot up as many spots.

Mya said: “I don’t look at them as a listing, as I love watching and experiencing each bird.

“I’ve been very lucky as my parents got the bug for world birding when I was eight.

“I was just fascinated by the fact they had wings and could fly away.

“Since I was ten I’ve gone on birding trips abroad during the summer holidays.

“My favourite sighting would have to be the Southern Cassowary which I saw

“It was an incredible 6ft tall and was more like a dinosaur than a bird.

“My favourite place would have to be Bolivia for the huge landscapes.

“The people were lovely too and our driver Herman taught me Spanish and made me popcorn.

“I know I’ve had a special life.

“I was shown a world outside my tiny village, with birds almost extinct and indigenous people fighting to save their land.

“It’s a passion my parents and I share which is great as we can go on these long trips.

“We have a deal - when my parents are old I’ll pay them back by pushing their wheelchairs around on birding trips."

In 2012, when Mya was 10, her parents decided to take her out of school for six months, - tutoring her themselves, to take her on the trip of a life time.

The family spent six weeks in Columbia, six weeks in Bolivia and nine weeks in Peru, ensuring a two week return home between each trip so Mya could meet up with friends.

Her 3,000th spot - a Bowerbird - came during a six week trip to Queensland, Australia, in Summer 2013.

The teenage twitcher made her 4,000th spot - a red-throated tit - at Swara Plains, Kenya, during a summer 2015 trip to Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.

Last June Mya earned her C-permit from the British Trust for Ornithology - an official authorisation for her to birdspot and record alone, without the supervision of her parents.

The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) World Bird List currently has 10,738 birds on it - and determined Mya-Rose is keen to see half before she turns 18.

Mya said: “The bird I’d like to see most is a Harpy Eagle, the biggest eagle in the world which lives in South America.

“There’s only relatively low number of them left so it’s difficult to spot them.

“I’m going on my first trip to Brazil this summer, so I think I will be spoilt with additional species there.

“I’m just really hoping I get to see the Harpy Eagle.”

Proud mum, Helena, 50, a retired lawyer, said: "She used to come with us when she was tiny. We first took her to the Isle of Scilly when she was only a few months old.

"It’s what me and my husband have always done but Mya is really into it as well. Even her third word was 'birdie!'"

Mya, who attends Chew Valley Secondary School, in Somerset, is keen to keep up the hobby and is already planning her next trip.

Her parents, Helena and retired TV executive Chris, 50, say whilst they are keen to continue travelling with Mya they don't think she'll be taking any more time off school.

Helena added that it was unlikely her daughter would be able to spot all 10,000 varieties of birds - but that wouldn't stop her trying.

She said: "Mya-Rose is keen to keep birding – though I’m not sure it’s fair to say she’ll get them all.

"The problem with trying to find all 10,000 varieties is that you have to keep revisiting countries and it costs millions of pounds to do that.

"We aren’t really trying to beat any records – we’re just doing it for ourselves really.”

Top 7 birds from each continent:

1. Southern Cassowary, Australia, Australasia, aged 11, 2003

2. Shoebill, Uganda, Africa, aged 13, 2015

3. Sword-billed Hummingbird, Ecuador, South America, aged eight, 2010

4. Emperor Penguin, Antarctica aged 13, 2015

5. Bornean Bristlehead, Borneo, Asia, aged 15, 2014

6. Great Roadrunner, USA, aged 14, 2016

7. Puffin, UK, Europe, aged six, 2009