76 BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS 



lough — another northern-breeding species. The weather 

 being warm and summer-like, it seems strange to 

 see this winter duck still here. But the fjeld-lakes of 

 Norway, whither he is bound, are still ice-bound, and 

 will remain so for another fortnight. This I know from 

 experience ; my little diving friend knows it equally 

 well by intuition, or instinct. Hence he is in no hurry 

 to be off. In 1886, I witnessed the arrival of two pairs 

 of golden-eyes at their Norsk breeding-quarters on June 

 3rd. That lake was then just clear of ice. 



The Ring-Ouzel is a typical bird of the moorland, and 

 this is his date for breeding. We found the first nest 

 on May 7th at Leechope; another on the 13th, each 

 with four eggs. Their most favourite site is some steep 

 bank on the fells, where the nest finds support among 

 the loose stalks of long shaggy heather. Others select 

 more sheltered spots, among scrub or fern, or on a 

 rocky scaur. On the burns, ring-ouzels often nest on 

 a crevice of the crags ; sometimes in close companionship 

 with a dipper. The nest resembles a blackbird's, but 

 has a framework of heather-stalks ; eggs usually number 

 four, occasionally five. The young are hatched in 

 May, and on wing by mid- June. They remain on the 

 moors, sheltering by day in bracken-beds, till the 

 autumnal crop of wild fruits and berries (especially 

 bilberry and rowan) is exhausted ; then they raid sub- 

 jacent gardens before finally disappearing. 



The song of the ring-ouzel is one of the most pleas- 

 ing of moorland melodies. There is not much of it, 

 and it sounds feeble ; yet it can be heard afar- — a mellow 

 triple pipe, that when heard in the dusk of a summer's 

 evening, coming from far above, or from the depths of 

 some rocky glen, is full of the genius loci, sweetly wild. 



