jck wrote:
I think there is a very high probability you're right. They love ragwort - I've seen lots here in the south recently.

There are only 2 Eriothrix sp in the UK and E. prolixa is rare. From what I can find on iRecord and the NBN atlas, it is definitely a southern species: in the north only a couple of records in the Lake District area and nothing in Scotland. This is not the most recent data but can't be too far off. E. rufomaculata is recorded quite widely in Scotland, esp in the east.

James