A Siberian bird thousands of miles off course turned up in Cumbria

A tiny bird that should be spending the winter in south or south-east Asia has turned up thousands of miles away, in a quiet valley in Cumbria. Sadly, it was the household cat that found it first.

The bird is a Siberian rubythroat, and bird experts are calling the discovery extraordinary.

What happened?

A woman living in a remote valley in north Cumbria heard her cat flap go. Her heart sank when her cat brought in a bird and trotted off again, she told the BBC.

She didn't recognise the species, but she spotted a beautiful orange-red patch of feathers under its beak. She realised it was unusual and put the bird in her freezer. At the weekend, the RSPB (the UK's big bird-conservation charity) contacted Chris Hind, Cumbria's county recorder for birds.

"She probably didn't realise how incredibly unusual it is," Hind said.

Why is it such a big deal?

There have been only 17 recorded cases of the Siberian rubythroat in the UK. Fifteen of them were in the northern Scottish isles. That leaves just two accepted records from mainland Britain.

The bird was also very light. It weighed 28 grams, just under 1oz, while textbooks say it should be about 73 grams.

Rubythroats are extremely secretive too. They creep around in thick vegetation, and the valley where this one was found has plenty of trees, bushes and hedges. Hind said it's likely nobody would ever have seen it if the cat hadn't come across it.

Why it headed west instead of south is a mystery. Hind pointed to yellow-browed warblers, which are now seen in the UK in growing numbers. People once assumed those birds were simply lost, but some academics now think something more purposeful may be going on.

Hind admitted to "very mixed emotions". He's sad for the bird and a bit angry with the cat, but he added: "Cats are predators, this is what they do, it's not the cat's fault."

What's next?

The bird is currently in Hind's freezer. Academics will take samples from it first.

After that, it will go to Tullie House museum in Carlisle. Hind hopes it can be prepared so it can go on display, because it has a remarkable story and is "a very dramatic looking bird".