36 OUR NATIVE SONGSTERS. 



The ring oiizel places its nest near the stream, 

 sometimes sheltered by a bank, or by some chimp 

 of large foliage ; but often the wanderer over the 

 moorland may see it scarcely liidden by the 

 branches of the ling, or lying quite exposed to 

 view, among the heather bells or roseate heath. 

 The form and materials of this little structure are 

 similar to those of the blackbird, and the eggs, 

 too, resemble, both in size and colour, those of our 

 early songster. Bechstein says that its voice is 

 sweeter than that of our favourite, though some 

 notes are hoarser and deeper; but few naturalists 

 agree with him, and it is by others compared to 

 that of the misscl-tlirush. The bird sings usually 

 from the top of some crag or stone. 



The food of the ring ouzel consists of snails, 

 insects, hawthorn berries, and various fruits; and 

 when it first returns to us in spring, it eats many 

 ivy berries. During autumn it sometimes comes 

 to gardens for the fruit, and about the end of 

 October it is seen along our southern coasts in 

 flocks of from twenty to thirty, ready for its de- 

 parture. Mr. Yarrell thinks that these birds cross 

 the Channel to France and Spain, and thence 

 to Africa, where they pass the winter; while he 



