136 ADVENTURES AMONG BIRDS 



was a fine opportunity of comparing our two British 

 blackbirds — two pairs, male and female, all animated 

 by the same passion, and acting together like birds 

 of the same species, dashing close to my face, as I 

 sat on a stone holding the richly-coloured young bird 

 in my hand, showing it to them. 



The ring-ouzel always looks like a lesser blackbird, 

 even when they are thus seen side by side, although 

 it is about the same size; but it is not so black as 

 his cousin, for black, being the most conspicuous 

 colour in nature, exaggerates the size of an object, 

 especially a living moving one, to the eye. In some 

 lights the ring-ouzel has a rusty appearance owing 

 to the pale tips of the feathers. The female is less 

 black than the male and varies in colour according 

 to the light, sometimes appearing olive-black or 

 brown, and in some lights a greenish-bronze colour. 



On my liberating the young bird the four demon- 

 strators flew off. On the following day I found the 

 ring-ouzels' nest in a tuft of bilberry growing on a 

 ledge of rock at the glen side. It contained four eggs. 

 The male continued to sing at intervals during the 

 day when the female was sitting, but his favourite 

 time was late in the evening, when perched on a stone 

 about a hundred yards from his mate he would repeat 

 his song about twice every minute until it was dark. 

 He was the latest of the songsters, and would sing 

 on the coldest evenings, even when it was raining. 



My daily visits to this nest were greatly resented 

 by the birds. It was their misfortune that they had 

 builded their home so near me and had made it so 



