The bird, a Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), typically breeds in the taiga forests of Siberia and migrates to warmer parts of Asia to spend the winter. Strong-flying Asian species like the bluetail occasionally reach North America when their internal compass is off or when they get caught in powerful storms. Even so, most previous bluetail records from the Western Hemisphere are from the outlying Aleutians and Bering Sea islands off western Alaska.

“It seems so unlikely that someone would have recognized it,” said Dave Slager, University of Washington graduate student. “Luckily, a keen-eyed person spotted it dead below a window while it was still fresh and noticed it was something unusual. They also recorded the date and location, and froze the specimen for transport to the Burke Museum.”

Article Source: Burke Museum