128 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS 



bird may again be observed in family parties and 

 small flocks. The birds leave their mountain haunts 

 in September, but continue to be seen in more low- 

 land districts during the following month, and rarely 

 into November. 



The general colour of the adult male Ring Ouzel 

 is brownish-black, with the exception of the nearly 

 white gorget, reaching from the shoulders across the 

 breast ; most of the small body feathers have whitish 

 margins. The female is browner in colour, and the 

 gorget is not so distinctly defined and is suffused 

 with brown. The nestlings are barred with black 

 and pale brown, and the wing-coverts are streaked 

 and' tipped with buffish-white ; there is no trace of 

 the white gorget. The total length of this species 

 is about ten inches. 



