108 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



He never leaves it; let it wind as it may, he follows 

 its course, now np, now down, but always near 

 the water ; or he will sit in the middle of the 

 brook, the water splashing around him, and sing 

 his melodious little song, in the gladness of his 

 heart. 



The RING OUSEL is also a regular British thrush, 

 but it is not a common species. It is occasionally 

 observed in small flocks in spring and autumn, on 

 its passage to and from the regions where it breeds. 

 The whole plumage is black, all the feathers 

 edged with ash-grey. On the upper part of the 

 breast is a large crescent-shaped stripe of pure 

 white. The food selected by this species is similar 

 to that of the blackbird snails, insects, fruit, and 

 hawberries, before the birds leave us for the winter, 

 and ivy berries, when they return in the spring. 

 Bufibn says they feed largely on grapes in France, 

 and are at that time delicious eating; he adds, 

 that on account of their habit of placing their 

 nests on or near the ground, they are sometimes 

 called merles terres (ground thrushes). Their 

 cry of alarm, when disturbed much, resembles that 

 of the blackbird.* 



* There have been three other foreign species of thrush 

 killed in England, WHITE'S THRUSH, the ROCK THRUSH* 

 and the GOLD- VENTED THBUSIT. 



