Cat Brings Rare Siberian Rubythroat Into Cumbria Home, Experts Say
A cat in Brampton, Cumbria, brought a dead Siberian rubythroat into its owner's home on Sunday. Only 17 records of the bird were accepted in Britain between 1975 and 2022, and it had never been seen in Cumbria before, according to local bird experts.
A cat brings extremely rare Siberian rubythroat, a songbird described as a "national rarity", into a home in Brampton, Cumbria, after catching it on Sunday. The bird was dead.
Its owner, who wants to stay anonymous, said her heart sank. She had "heard the cat flap go" and the cat "brought her a bird and trotted off".
A bird nobody expected
The woman noticed a "distinctive beautiful orange-red feather patch under its beak" but could not name the species. She put it in her freezer "amongst lollipops" while she researched it. She then contacted RSPB Geltsdale, which called the county recorder.
Chris Hind, Cumbria's county recorder for birds, said Britain had only 17 accepted records of Siberian rubythroat between 1975 and 2022. The bird is "very secretive", he said, calling the find "an extraordinary scenario".
The species is related to the European robin. It is on a national list of very rare birds assessed by the British Birds Rarities Committee. Hind said he had submitted the record and had "absolutely no doubt that it will be accepted" because of the bird's bright red throat.
Far off course
The bird weighed 28g. Hind called that "very underweight", since the species is understood to weigh around 75g. He said it had likely flown from Siberia.
Josh Jones, senior editor of Bird Guides, a website that logs sightings of rare birds, said the species was "notoriously hard for British birdwatchers to see". It had never been recorded in Cumbria before.
At this time of year, he said, Siberian rubythroats should be heading south from their Siberian breeding grounds to winter in South-East Asia. That showed how far off course this bird was.
Jones described a "largely brown bird" with a "jewel-like crimson throat" and striking white eyebrows and moustachial stripes. He called its death "absolutely tragic" and urged cat owners to fit warning bells to their collars. "Such deaths are perfectly avoidable by taking the right steps," he said.
Hind said the bird's secretive habits made the discovery almost accidental. The species lives "concealed among dense vegetation", he said, so without the cat it is "almost impossible" anyone would have seen or identified it.
Hind's role involves helping manage about 250,000 recorded bird sightings in Cumbria every year.
Academics will take the samples they need for research. The bird will then go to the Tullie museum in Carlisle, Hind said.
