A Russian eagle being monitored by scientists via a GPS tracker has cost them a small fortune in roaming charges – after it flew out the country.

The migrating bird, named Min, was fitted with a device designed to text its coordinates back to researchers.

But they had not reckoned on the Steppe eagle– which usually migrate to southern Russia or Kazakhstan – taking a 3,000-mile scenic route and spending a large amount of time out of range, before arriving inIran.

From there, hundreds of text messages were hit with a 49 rouble (60p) roaming tariff – leading to the monster bill.

The scientists, from Russian Raptor Research and Conservation Network, were monitoring 13 birds in their routes from Siberia.

Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team Show all 10 1 /10 Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team An unconventional family of bald eagles comprised of two males and one female have been filmed raising eaglets together AP Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team The trio were spotted living together along the Mississippi River near Fulton, Illinois AP Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team The two males are sharing their second partner after their original female mate was killed by another eagle Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge have named the males Valor I and Valor II and the female Starr Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team A webcam set up by the stewards in 2011 is allowing animal enthusiasts around the world watch live footage of the trio raising their chicks Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team The original trio formed in 2013 when Valor I's previous partner chose Valor II as a new mate Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team However Valor I hung around for the rest of the breeding season and, after their mate was killed in 2017, the pair courted new female Starr together later the same year Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team Three eggs have been laid by Starr hatched this spring Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team A screengrab from the livestream of the eagles Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge Trio of eagles raise chicks as a team The eagles in 2016, before Starr replaced now dead prior mate Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge

But Min is said to have first flown to an area without mobile coverage, meaning her messages were held back for four months.

She, then, travelled almost 3,000 miles onto Iran, where the backlog was released, meaning all previous messages were sent in one go.

Researcher Elena Schneider said: “She sent us (all at once) hundreds of expensive SMSs with her summer locations...spending the entire collective (phone) budget for our eagles.”

The cost is said to have been in the tens of thousands of roubles.

The scientists revealed their predicament this week when they launched a crowdfunding bid to pay off the “astronomical” bill.

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