MOSCOW, September 2 (RAPSI) - Egyptian authorities have detained a bird suspected by a concerned citizen of espionage, The Associated Press (AP) reported Sunday.

Notably, there are conflicting reports as to whether the suspect is a stork or a swan. Whereas the head of the local veterinary service and police referred to the bird as a swan, photographs obtained by the AP appear to show a stork locked up in some variety of Egyptian holding cell.

According to the report, a man in the Qena governorate found several birds that seemed a bit suspect near his home, and accordingly brought them to the local police station. The man’s suspicion owed primarily to the fact that the bird was strapped with a mysterious electronic device.

A team of veterinary experts reportedly examined the device – soon determining that its aims were oriented less toward espionage than toward tracking the bird’s movement.

The wildlife tracker, it turned out, had been installed by French scientists, according to the report.

The AP noted that the device had stopped working once the bird left France, thus absolving it of espionage.

In another high-profile case of suspected avian espionage, Reuters reported in July citing local news sources that Turkish authorities had detained a kestrel suspected of spying for Israel, but released the bird after subjecting it to an X-ray, thus determining an absence of microchips or other such surveillance devices.