Turkish authorities rescued some 2,000 goldfinches yesterday from a smuggler in southern Turkey.

Under Turkish law, hunting goldfinches is illegal. Border security teams in Altınözü, in southern Turkey's Hatay, stopped a suspicious individual carrying cages of the small songbirds from one place to another, said a security source.

The suspect, a Turkish citizen, had some 2,000 goldfinches in his possession that he was smuggling into Turkey from Syria. The suspect was arrested and the authorities handed over the birds to the Nature Conservation and National Parks office in Hatay, the source added. The European goldfinch can be found along the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. Hatay borders both the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria.