78 CLARKE : THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE. 



the first week in April, 1837, but the parent birds formed a 

 tunnel beneath the snow over two feet in length, and through 

 this gained access to their young. In the last week of 

 December, in the unusually mild season of 1854, a nest with 

 four eggs was found at Sneaton Thorp, near Whitby. 



Local Names : Ouzell or Ouizle (West Riding) ; Black 

 Ouzle (Craven) ; Black Uzzle (Cleveland) ; Blackie (general 

 among school-boys). 



TUEUDS TOEQUATUS L. 

 Ring Ouzel. 



A summer visitant, locally distributed ; a transient visitant in the autumn. 



' Common on high moorlands ; according to Dr. Farrar they are some- 

 times met with in the more frequented lowlands. R. Leyland on one occa- 

 sion saw a flock of more than twenty feeding on the berries of a mountain 

 ash in a garden near Halifax in the month of September. Arthur Strick- 

 land has once or twice met with considerable flights of this bird when shoot- 

 ing in turnips in the autumn, probably collecting for emigration and 

 apparently consisting for the most part of birds of imperfect plumage„probably 

 birds of the year.' — Thomas Allis, 1844. 



In addition to being a summer visitant to the broad belt 

 of moorland and the heather-clad fells which range along the 

 entire west of the county and to the Cleveland moors, the Ring 

 Ouzel occurs as a transient visitor in the autumn from northern 

 Europe when on its way to more southern winter quarters, and 

 doubtless again in the spring on its return journey, but its move- 

 ments at the latter season are much mixed with those of our 

 immigrant summer visitants. 



As a summer resident in the wide area occupied by its 

 habitat, it is as numerous at the present time as it was two 

 centuries ago, when the erudite Martin Lister of York wrote to 

 the celebrated John Ray under date of July 2nd, 1676, as 

 follows : ' As to that question of a Heath Throstle, I find that 



Trans. Y.N. U., 1S84 (pub. 1S86). Series B 



