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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. Тһе 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, clusterberry, and other fruits, are eaten, as are also 
the berries of the mountain-ash. The gardens near the Ring-Onzel’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 ; 
sometimes he is sitting on a tuft of heather, or on a gorse bush, or on the branches of some silver 
birch or mountain-ash, yet, perhaps, most frequently of all on the summit of a grey boulder. 
Monotonous as is the song of the Ring-Ouzel, still its loud tones and the bold bearing of the bird 
itself fully harmonize with the wild surroundings. You may often see him perched on some 
storm-riven tree growing out of the grey rocks, where, with his white breast glistening in the sun, he 
sits motionless and pours forth his wild notes. His song resembles in part that of the Starling, the 
Blackbird, and the Song-Thrush. Тһе bird, after several piping notes, utters a few harsh tones, as if 
in mockery of his own performance, probably a minute passing between each snatch of song. If you 
alarm him, his wild notes cease at once, and, with his wild cries echoing in the rocks around, he 
either drops down into the heath or flies away to a more secluded resting-place. Тһе claims of the 
Ring-Ouzel to the rank of a first-rate songster may be disputed, and his musical powers be 
unfavourably compared with those of the Song-Thrush or the Blackbird ; still there is a wild freedom 
in them which gives them a peculiar charm, and the wild nature of the surrounding landscape is also 
much enhanced in beauty by a song as clear and melodious in tone as the scenery around is grand 
and impressive. If it be the surroundings alone that gain the Ring-Ouzel his musical reputation, 
then most surely it is the shaded dells and wooded copses that bring the Song-Thrush's music and 
the Blackbird's trills into such high repute. 
“The call-notes of the Ring-Ouzel are somewhat varied. Sometimes they are as low and 
musical as a Wheatear's (call-notes to each other, in fact); sometimes the note is a piping cry, 
apparently confined to the male bird alone, with which he speaks to his mate. But the alarm-note 
is a sharp tac-tac-tac, tac-tac-tac, repeated more frequently and loudly should you happen to be in 
the neighbourhood of the nest. 
“Тһе Ring-Ouzel very probably pairs annually, soon after its arrival at its breeding-grounds; 
and a week or so later the birds are engaged in the duties of the season—towards the end of April; 
yet eggs can be obtained throughout the whole of May and even till July, although these may be the 
eggs of birds whose first clutch was destroyed. Тһе nest of the Ring-Ouzel is generally placed on 
the ground, in a hollow in the midst of the ling, which effectually conceals it. Occasionally it will 
