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| The engraving of the bird as featured in Bree's book |
LATEST data indicates that the black-throated thrush has been sighted more than 80 times in Britain - the two most recent having been in the grounds of Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire and Grimsby Institute in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire.
But which was the first record?
According to an a letter to a 1869 edition of The Field magazine, this was it:
Sir -
On Wednesday December 23, a fine example of the black-throated thrush was shot near Lewes.
The bird, which proved, on dissection, to be a male, was in excellent condition, and, having been carefully handled,
was in fine order for preservation.
In this respect, it has received ample justice from the hands of Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, where it may be seen.
This rara avis is well described by Bree, in his History of The Birds of Europe Not Observed in The British Isles, and, on comparison with the engraving on Page 187 of Volume 1, was easily distinguished.
It is, I believe, the first specimen taken in Great Britain.
T. J. Monk
Mountfield House
Lewes
December 29, 1869
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