TURDIX.^. 



15 



THE RING-OUZEL. 



T URDUS TORQUATUS, Linna;us. 



The Ring-Ouzel is the only one of our breeding Thrushes which 

 is absent as a rule from our islands during the winter. It is true that 

 individuals have been known to remain till after Christmas in 

 England, Scotland, and Ireland, but the majority leave, m September 

 and October, the wilder and more elevated districts in which they 

 have passed the summer ; and, after a comparatively short stay in 

 the lowlands to feed upon the autumnal berries, they depart for the 

 south. In April the Ring-Ouzel returns, and pairs are said to have 

 nested occasionally in Hampshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Warwickshire, 

 and similar counties, but as a rule its breeding-places are in the wild 

 and hilly districts of Cornwall, Devon, Somersetshire, the Pennine 

 backbone of England and its spurs; in Wales; and in the greater part 

 of Scotland, including the Orkneys, and most of those islands which 

 present suitable features ; to the Shetlands it is comparatively a 

 rare visitor. In Ireland it frequents the mountainous districts in 

 varying numbers during the summer. 



There are two races of Ring-Ouzel. Our rather dark form also 

 breeds in Scandinavia from about 58° to 70° N. lat., and thence east- 

 ward in suitable localities as far as portions of the Ural Mountains, 

 beyond which the steppes appear to act as a barrier ; and it is said to 



