1 8 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



interesting birds found on Dartmoor is the Ring 

 Ouzel. It is very local and by no means common, 

 found principally in the vicinity of the higher and 

 wilder tors, its migrations, like those of the Wheat- 

 ear, being easily traced from the various headlands 

 on the coast inland to the moors. The Ring 

 Ouzel, however, does not seem to rest so much 

 on the way, apparently reaching the uplands in 

 one flight. y It not only arrives in parties in April, 



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but leaves in still larger gatherings during Sep- 

 tember and October. These spring flights of Ring 

 Ouzels soon disperse when the moors are reached, 

 and the bird during summer is chiefly met with in 

 locally scattered pairs. We are also of opinion 

 that numbers of Ring Ouzels seen on Dartmoor 

 during spring are merely passing migrants on their 

 way to more northern haunts ; and the same 

 remarks apply to the flocks sometimes seen in 

 autumn, these being composed of individuals 

 simply crossing the moor on the return passage. 

 There can be no doubt, however, that the bird 

 breeds sparingly in this district, a fact which 

 we can confirm from personal experience. Its 

 favourite haunts are the rock-strewn slopes and 

 ridges, the gorse and heath-grown banks of streams, 



