Siberian rubythroat found dead in Cumbria, thousands of miles off course
A Siberian rubythroat, a small songbird, has been found dead in Cumbria in north-west England, after being brought in by a cat. The Guardian reported that the bird was found thousands of miles from where it would normally be.
The species breeds in Siberia and migrates south to winter in south and south-east Asia. Its appearance in Cumbria is unusual for a reason that the bird's rarity in Britain helps explain. A woman living in a remote north Cumbrian valley found the bird and put it in her freezer after recognising that it was unusual. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) contacted Chris Hind, Cumbria's county recorder for birds, at the weekend after she reported it.
Records of the species in the UK are few. There have been only 17 recorded instances, and 15 of those were in the northern Scottish isles. The Guardian reports that there are only two accepted records from mainland Britain.
The Cumbrian bird weighed 28 grams. It was described as very underweight compared with a textbook weight of about 73 grams.
The bird is now in Hind's freezer, pending sampling by academics. The plan is for it to go to Tullie House museum in Carlisle, where Hind hopes it can be prepared for display.
