THE RING-OUZEL. 245 



bird flits before you, ever at a respectable distance, and, if repeatedly 

 disturbed, will take itself off with strong rapid flight to some place of 

 safety. There is much in the Ring-Ouzers habits and movements in 

 common with those of the Blackbird, — its garrnlousness at nightfall, its 

 method of searching for food, its peculiar elevation of the tail upon alighting, 

 and its shy, restless, and vigilant disposition, all being characteristic of that 

 coal-black chorister. Directly after its arrival on our shores the Ring- 

 Ouzel is sometimes observed in large flocks, not unfrequently consisting 

 of several hundred individuals. They remain gregarious for a few days, 

 frequenting the marshes and swamps before they pair and distribute them- 

 selves over the moors. At this season the birds are more vigilant than 

 ever, and, if disturbed, rise like Fieldfares and take themselves off to safer 

 and more secluded quarters. 



The food of the Ring-Ouzel is varied, and is both animal and vegetable. 

 At dawn, or just as the evening^s mist is stealing up the mountains, you 

 will not unfrequently see him on the wild pasture-lands of the upland 

 farms, or on the stretches of marshy grass-land, studded with rush-tufts, 

 on the moor. Here, in a precisely similar manner to the Blackbird, the 

 Ring-Ouzel seeks his food, which consists of the worms and small slugs 

 abounding in the earth and on the blades of grass. Every few moments he 

 hops forward, looks warily around, and then commences digging for his 

 prey, occasionally pausing in his labours with head erect, as if fearful of 

 discovery so far from the friendly cover of the heath. On the moor itself 

 he obtains much of his sustenance. The droppings from the cattle and the 

 sheep that pasture there abound with small beetles and insects, which the 

 bird searches for and captures, just as the Blackbird does on the lowland 

 pastures. Then, too, amongst the wild luxuriant growth of vegetation on 

 the moor, numerous shells are found ; and the snails that tenant them are 

 eaten, the bird breaking the shells, just like the Thrush or Blackbird, on 

 some convenient stone or rock. The Ring-Ouzel is also passionately fond 

 of fruits and berries ; indeed, from July to the time of his departure for 

 the south, these form his favourite fare. The wild berries of the moorland, 

 the billberry, cranberry, cluster-berry, and other fruits, are eaten, as are 

 also the berries of the mountain-ash. The gardens near the Ring-Ouzel's 

 haunts are also visited and plundered, all the smaller fruits being eaten, 

 and also the plums and cherries. Ivy-berries, elder-berries, and the 

 luscious fruit of the bramble are also part of the bird's autumn food ; and 

 the vineyards of France and Spain are visited on the bird's passage south 

 for the sake of the dainty fare they afford. 



Soon after their arrival at their breeding-grounds the male Ring-Ouzels 

 are heard singing in all directions, and, by exercising a little caution, you 

 may get within a few yards of the bird and thus observe him closely. 

 Sometimes he is perched on the rocky walls that there do duty for hedges ; 



