A rare sighting of the Eurasian Hoopoe bird in Australia has been captured on an island off Western Australia's northern coastline.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife has recorded vision of the African bird on Aldolphus Island, two kilometres north of Wyndham.

It's only the third time the bird has been spotted in Australia.

It was first recorded in Australia in 2011 at Roebuck Plains Roadhouse in the west Kimberley. Last year it was spotted at Galiwinku on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory.

The cameras installed on Aldolphus Island last October were recording the wildlife inhabiting the area since the invasion of cane toads.

The department's Corrin Everitt said she was "beyond surprised" to see the Hoopoe.

"When we found it on our cameras. we started having a look on the internet to see how unusual it was. We realised just how exciting it was," she said.

Ms Everitt was unsure as to why the bird was recently being found in Australia.

"I don't know whether it's necessarily all of a sudden or whether it's just that we are getting out and about a bit more to unusual places," she said.

"I don't know. It's an interesting record."

However, Ms Everitt did say the birds had travelled off course to be found in Australia.

The camera footage did also show the bird life had doubled on the island since surveys in 2008-09.

Ms Everitt said the increase in numbers could be due to seasonal weather.

"It just goes to show you that, particularly for Kimberley islands, there's a huge change in the island as we get rain, as the island changes through the year."