1650 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



The ring ousel (M. torquata}, represented in the illustration on 

 p. 1646, is a mountain-loving species, spending the summer months 

 among the heaths and pine forests of the hills of Central and Northern Europe. 

 In Northern Europe the cock ring ousel arrives upon its ground in April and May, 

 and the females soon after join their partners. Generally nesting in some wild 

 solitude, building in the rocks that overhang a mountain burn, especially where the 

 ground is rough and well covered with heather, the ring ousel is shy and wary, and 

 rarely permits a very close approach to the nest. In Switzerland, however, a fir 

 tree is the more common site for the nest which is always built of dry grass and 

 heather, and lined with fine stems. The eggs are blue, finely spotted with reddish 

 brown. The young occasionally fly as early as the beginning of June. All through 

 the early summer months the ring ousels live among the sheep on the hillside, but 

 when the fruits ripen in autumn, the fell throstles or mountain blackbirds, as these 

 birds are often called, approach the neighborhood of orchards and gardens, and pro- 

 ceed to levy blackmail upon the crops. They are especially partial to cherries, 

 though, when the berries of the mountain ash ripen, the ring ousels gorge them- 

 selves to repletion upon their favorite fruit, so that they become fat and in high 

 condition before they leave the shores of Europe to seek a more genial climate in 

 Northern Africa. Flying strongly and direct, the ring ousel utters a song which 

 is both sweet and powerful, and audible at a great distance, although inferior to 

 that of the blackbird. The harsh, chuckling notes which this bird utters when its 

 haunts are invaded cannot well be confused with those of any other bird. Mr. 

 Howard Saunders says that the ring ousels, which breed in the Swiss forests, fre- 

 quent the vineyards by the lakes in the autumn time, levying toll upon the grapes, 

 which the owners guard so jealously. During migration, the ring ousel is some- 

 times found with blackbirds and thrushes at lighthouses. The adult male, in breed- 

 ing plumage, has the upper surface blackish brown; the wings being brown with 

 whitish edgings; most of the feathers of the under surface have pale gray margins, 

 and a broad white gorget extends across the breast, and is always conspicuous. 



The representatives of this small group (Monticola] have a stout, 

 straight bill, arched toward its extremity, and while the wings are 

 moderate in length, the tail is short and even. The legs are stout, strong, and well 

 adapted to progression over irregular surfaces. The rock thrushes are peculiar to 

 the Old World, three species inhabiting South Africa, and a fourth Abyssinia, 

 while two breed in the Himalayas, one of which extends eastward into Western 

 China. The two best-known species, the blue thrush and the rock thrush of 

 Western Europe, range from Northern China to Spain and Italy. 



The rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis] is a summer visitant to the 

 Common Rock , ... ... . r /^ 1 



Thrush more barren portions of the principal mountain ranges of Central 



Europe and Siberia, but does not reach the far north in its annual wan- 

 derings. L,ike its cousin the blue rock thrush, it is partial to rocky gorges among 

 the hills and regions far removed from any human habitation, save for the chance 

 presence of a shepherd's hut or farmstead in some hollow among the mountains. It 

 is a shy and wary species, constantly vibrating its tail like a redstart, and migrating 

 to its breeding ground in flocks, where it commences to nest in May. The nest is 



