p 



I 



THE RING THE CARNATION -OUZEL. 259 



This bird has given rise to an expression, found occasionally 

 in our old writers, and also at the present time in the West : 

 "The harm is done j and farwelfeld^fare." 



Chaucer, Troilus and Cressida, Book ii. 

 That is, the season is over; the occasion is past; the bird is flown. 



*' Ye strangers, banished from your native glades, 

 I Where tyrant frost with famine leagu'd proclaims 



' Who lingers diesj' with many a risk ye win 

 The privilege to breathe our softer air 

 And glean our sylvan berries." 



GiSEORN E's JValks in a Forest — Autumn. 

 The Tor^ua/ws, Ring-Ouzel, Amsel, Rockov Mountain Ouzels 

 Michaelmas- Blackbird^ or Tor-Ouzel, is eleven inches long ; the ge- 

 neral plumage black, beueatii greyish ; collar white. One or 

 two other varieties. Rather a scarce bird in this country. It 

 is also found in many parts of Europe, A^ia, and Africa. The 

 Ring-ouzel is a migratory bird ; said to breed in Scotland, Wales, 

 and some parts of the West of England. Nest generally on the 

 ground under some bush, which, and theeggs, are similar to the 

 blackbird's. 



" Joyously 

 From stone to stone, the Ouzel flits along. 

 Startling the linnet from the hawthorn bough; 

 While on the elm-tree, overshadowing deep 

 The low-roofed cottage white, the Blackbird sits 

 Cheerily hymning the awakened year." 



'*' Tbe above lines are from Blackwood's Magazine , for March, 

 1822, with the signature of A- I take the present opportunity 

 of expressing the pleasure which I have often felt on the pe- 

 rusal of the many truly poetical productions of this amiable yet 

 anonymous writer which have, from time, to time appeared in 

 that magazine. 



The Roseus, Rose-coloured Thrush, Ouzel, or Carnation- 

 Ouzeij is the most beautiful of the species, and occasionally seen 

 in this country ; it is rather less than the blackbird, being in 

 length hardly eight inches. The head, which is crested, neck, 



