Rare Siberian songbird killed by cat after making extraordinary journey to Britain

A Siberian rubythroat, one of the rarest birds ever recorded in Britain, has been found dead in the Cumbrian town of Brampton after falling victim to a domestic cat.

The species, a relative of the European robin, has been documented on just 17 occasions across the UK between 1975 and 2022, with 15 of those sightings occurring in the northern Scottish isles.

Chris Hind, Cumbria's county recorder for birds, called the find "extraordinary," noting that only two accepted records exist from mainland Britain.

The bird had never previously been spotted in Cumbria.

Rather than following its usual migratory route southward from Siberia to spend winter in south-east Asia, this particular rubythroat had veered thousands of miles off course to end up in a remote north Cumbrian valley.

The cat's owner, who has asked not to be identified, described the moment she realised what had happened.

She told the BBC, "I heard the cat flap go", and her cat "brought her a bird and trotted off".

The cat owner admitted that her "heart sank", recounting how she noticed the striking plumage on the lifeless songbird.

She said: "I saw the bird's distinctive beautiful orange-red feather patch under its beak but I couldn't recognise the species."

Sensing the bird was something out of the ordinary, she placed it in her freezer while she attempted to identify it.

She subsequently reached out to the RSPB, which in turn alerted Mr Hind to the remarkable discovery.

The rubythroat was in dire physical condition when it was found, weighing just 28g, barely a third of the 75g that healthy specimens of the species typically reach.

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Mr Hind described the bird as belonging to a "very secretive" species that spends its life hidden within thick vegetation, making detection almost impossible under normal circumstances.

He said: "If this cat hadn't brought it in, it's almost impossible that anyone would either have seen it or identified it."

He noted that the location where it was found was densely covered with trees, bushes and hedgerows.

Mr Hind confirmed that the bird, currently stored in his own freezer, will be examined by academics who intend to take samples before it is transferred to Tullie House museum in Carlisle.

He expressed hope that the specimen could be prepared for public display, given both its remarkable backstory and its striking appearance.

Josh Jones, senior editor of Bird Guides, said the rubythroat was "notoriously hard for British birdwatchers to see".

He said it's "absolutely tragic that the beautiful bird has fallen victim to a pet cat" after what was likely a gruelling journey across thousands of miles from the Siberian wilderness..

Mr Jones urged cat owners to fit their pets with bell-equipped collars to give birds advance warning of an approaching predator.