THE RING OUZEL 



Merula torquata 



The Ring Ouzel is one of those less known 

 species that make their home in the wilder districts. 

 It is a bird of the moorlands and the mountains, 

 dwelling amongst some of the most grandly im- 

 pressive scenery that our islands contain. It breeds 

 sparingly on the uplands of Cornwall, Devon and 

 Somerset, thence onwards throuu^h the mountains 

 of Wales and the north of England to Scotland, 

 including some of the Hebrides, but neither the 

 Orkneys nor the Shetlands. In Ireland it is locally 

 distributed throughout the mountainous districts. 

 Owing to the presence of one if not two very 

 closely allied forms or races it is at present almost 

 impossible to determine the exact area occupied by 

 the Ring Ouzel in continental Europe. It appears, 

 however, to be the typical form that visits the 

 extreme west of Europe from Belgium to Scandi- 

 navia, up to about lat. 58°. The bird found appar- 

 ently as a resident on the mountains of Central and 

 123 



