0)1 Moorlands and Roitg/is. 55 



Whilst in flocks the birds are wary and wild 

 enough, but when breeding- they become bold and 

 venturesome to an astonishing: deq-ree — in these 

 respects exactly resembling their ally, the Missel- 

 thrush. We remark this Ouzel's habit of elevatinof 

 the tail after alighting, just as the Blackbird does; 

 we also cannot fail to notice its exceedinof noisiness 

 just prior to seeking a roosting-place; neither shall 

 we fail to observe its very Blackbird-like way of 

 feeding, ever alert and watchful. Soon after their 

 arrival, but never, so far as we have observed, be- 

 fore the flocks or travelling parties have disbanded, 

 the cock birds regain their vernal music characteristic 

 of the love season. With the resumption of song 

 the bird loses a good deal of its wariness, a fact we 

 may notice in not a few other species. He will sit 

 and warble on the big boulders of granite or mill- 

 stone grit, or when perched on the top of a rough 

 wall or some bending spray of ling or gorse, just 

 as sweetly as when sitting in the higher branches of 

 some birch or mountain-ash. > His music is not of 

 that rich excellence that marks the song of the 

 Blackbird, nor has it the variety so characteristic of 

 the Thrush; yet there is a wild beauty in harmony 

 with the surrounding scene that makes ample recom- 

 pense for its failings in other ways. Unfortunately 

 the bird continually spoils his music by introducing 

 a series of inharmonious harsh notes. Like that of 



