A bird lover has managed to capture some remarkable pictures of a rare white fantail in a graveyard just north of Auckland.

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Sea bird scientist Edin Whitehead turns her hand to bird photography in her spare time.

One day she caught wind there was a white fantail that was spotted fluttering around a graveyard in Whangateau.

She quickly decided to head down and try and photograph the rare sight.

"I don't usually have much luck finding the birds I want to photograph, but the first time I walked through the gate I saw it sitting on a headstone," Edin told Seven Sharp.

"It flew across the path and we hung out for an hour."