16 RING-OUZEL. 
nest sparingly in the south of Holland and Belgium. This form is 
found on migration over the whole of Europe, going down to North 
Africa and Egypt, Syria and Persia. In, and south of the mountains 
of Central Europe, the birds which breed have more or less white 
centres (as well as edges) to the feathers of the breast and under tail- 
coverts, and their appearance is decidedly spangled; but inter- 
mediate forms are frequent. ‘This race also migrates southward to 
some extent, and it makes its nest in fir-trees ; it has been named 
T. alpestris by C. L. Brehm. 
On our moors the Ring-Ouzel begins to breed in the latter part of 
April, making its nest, similar to that of a Blackbird, in tall ling 
and heather, on the ledges of rocks, or in broken banks ; sometimes 
at a moderate distance underneath fallen rocks; while the sides of 
streams or watercourses are favourite localities ; and occasionally 
stunted bushes are selected. The 4, seldom 5, eggs are greenish-blue, 
flecked and spotted with reddish-brown ; bolder and handsomer as 
a rule than those of the Blackbird, and more like those of the Field- 
fare: average measurements 1'1 by ‘85 in. Not unfrequently a 
second brood is produced in July. Few birds are bolder when their 
young are approached, the parents flying round the intruder, uttering 
their sharp alarm note of /ac-tac-tac, tac-tac-tac ; but the song is some- 
what monotonous, and derives its principal charm from the scenery 
in which it is heard. The food consists of worms, slugs, and 
insects; the bird being also partial to moorland berries and 
those of the rowan or mountain-ash. The Ring-Ouzel frequently 
descends to gardens in the vicinity of its haunts, and is extremely 
bold in its attacks upon fruit ; while in the vine-countries it feeds 
largely on grapes. 
‘Ihe adult male has the upper parts brownish-black, the outer 
margins of the wing-feathers grey; under parts blackish, except a 
broad white gorget; under wing and axillaries mottled with grey 
and white ; bill black at the tip, the rest yellowish; legs and feet 
brownish black. Length 10 in.; wing 5°5 in. The adult female is 
lighter and browner, with a narrower and duller gorget, which is 
scarcely perceptible in young females. A cock, little more than a 
nestling. in the British Museum, shot in Nairnshire on rst September, 
is 4/acker than any adult. In autumn both sexes have the feathers 
conspicuously margined with grey 
