Ring Ouzel. 137 



w offspring of weak parents, unfitted to rank with their fellows. I 

 may add that I have collected authentic evidence of the exist- 

 ence of such varieties in no less than fifty-seven species of our 

 British birds, in their wild state, and have no doubt that if 

 further investigated it would be seen that such occasional 

 deformities resulting from weakness do sometimes occur in every 

 species of bird ; though in those wearing the darkest livery 

 (such as the Blackbird and the Book) and therefore requiring a 

 larger supply of pigment, such varieties will be found to be more 

 frequent. 



I have the authority of the B.O.U". Committee for stating 

 that the specific name Merula is derived from ^e/\a?, ' black/ 

 Modified from the Latin, we have in French Merle noir, and 

 in Spanish, Mir to ; and in Portuguese the word itself, Merula, 

 but more commonly it is known all over the latter country as 

 Melro, by the same strange transposition of letters as that in use 

 \amongst our Wiltshire labourers, where they commonly miscall 

 pulpit, pilput bishop, buship, etc. 



37. RING OUZEL (Turdus torquatus). 



Here we have another migratory species of Thrush, but unlike 

 its congeners, the fieldfare and redwing, which come to us in 

 the autumn and retire northwards in the spring, the Bing Ouzel 

 comes to us in April, and retires again in October. It is, how- 

 ever, in this county but a bird of passage, passing on to more 

 northern districts in the summer, and returning to more southern 

 climes in the winter. It is easily distinguished from the black- 

 bird by the absence of the bright yellow bill, and by the white 

 collar or broad crescent-shaped ring round the chest, whence its 

 specific names, Latin and English; in other respects, such as 

 general appearance, shape, bulk, habits, food, etc., it resembles 

 that well-known songster : it differs from it, however, in occa- 

 sionally associating in flocks towards the beginning of autumn, 

 and so migrating in company, but sufficiently resembles it to be 

 called provincially the 'Mountain' and the ' Michaelmas' Black- 



