TURDUS TUROUATUS. 



Sysi. Nat, 296- 



THE RING-OUZLE, OR HEATH-OUZLE. 



PLATE IX. 



X his bird, in shape and size, is equal to the ouzle or 

 blackbird. In the bird before me, the bill is of a yel- 

 low ochre colour, except the point, which is dusky. 

 The mouth is yellow within. The eyes a dark brown. 

 The whole upper side of the bird, from bill to tail, is 

 black, with a cast of brown somewhat bright and shining. 

 The head is of a fuller black than the other parts of the 

 body. The quill feathers of the wing are the same 

 colour as the back, except their exterior edges, which 

 are white. The first and second coverts also have white 

 edges. The tail is composed of twelve black feathers, 

 with pale coloured edges. 



On the breast of the cock is a lunated mark of a 

 clear white, terminating in a point on each side of the 

 neck ; else the whole underside of the bird is the same 

 colour as the back. The hen differs from the cock, in 

 that the mark is not white on the breast, but of a dusky 

 brown. The colour of the back is more Juscus. The 

 feathers on the breast have grey borders, and the bill 

 is dusky. The feet and legs in both are of a dusky 

 horn colour. 



These birds sometimes visit the mountainous parts 

 of the West Riding of Yorkshire, where they breed. 

 They come in April, and leave us in October ; but 

 whence they come, or whither they go, I know not. A 

 remarkable circumstance is, that they do not visit us 

 regularly every year. Sometimes a few pairs visit my 

 neighbourhood, sometimes they come in plenty, and 

 sometimes for the space of two or three years we see 

 them not. They feed on fruits and insects. I have figured 

 the flowers and fruit of the * mountain-ash, or quicken- 

 tree. 



* Sorbus auciiparia. 



