The Thrush Tribe. 57 



tific name Merula, is said to be derived from its mera, 

 or solitary flight. The hen is of a dusky brown. White 

 and pied Blackbirds are not uncommon. 



The RING OUZEL (Turdus torquatus) much re- 

 sembles the Blackbird in its size and plumage, but 

 has a broad white band round its throat, and no 

 yellow beak. It is sometimes called the " ring," 

 " mountain," and " Michaelmas " Blackbird. It comes 

 to England in April, but is not very common except 

 in mountain districts. Its song is loud and sonorous, 

 but consists of a repetition of a few notes only. It will 

 live six or seven years in confinement, and must be 

 treated like the Blackbird. 



The REDWING (Turdus iliacus) has a much more 

 melodious song, but this is not often heard in England, 

 as it only visits us in the autumn, when the cold of its 

 northern home sends it away. It is known in the 

 North as the " Swedish Nightingale," and travellers in 

 Norway speak much of the loud, clear, and exquisitely 

 sweet notes with which it enlivens the thickets and 

 copses during the short summer night. It arrives in 

 England shortly before the Fieldfare, with which it 

 associates in flocks, but it may be readily discerned 

 amongst these birds by the red under wing-coverts. 

 When the wings are closed it resembles the Thrush, 

 but is a smaller bird, not quite nine inches long, and 

 shows a large patch of orange-red feathers when it 

 spreads its wings. It feeds on worms, snails, and 



