398 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR 

 NESTS AND EGGS. 



By S. L. MosLEY. 

 29. RING OUZLE. 

 Turdus torquatus, Linn. 



ToRQUATUs, (L). Zoned or ringed ; from 

 the white mark on the breast. 



Size. — Length about iiin., expanse 

 I ft. 7 in. 



Flumage. — Bill dark brown with some 

 yellow at the base ; eyes dark hazel, eye- 

 lids yellow. The whole of the plumage is 

 brownish-black, the feathers more or less 

 margined with grey, especially on the wings ; 

 a white crescent-shaped patch across the 

 breast ; legs dark brown. 



The Female has the grey margins of the 

 feathers broader, and the white crescent 

 narrower, and less pure. Old females are 

 like the males, and young males are like 

 the females. 



The Young from the nest are marked 

 very like the young of the missel thrush, 

 but the ground colour, of course, darker. 

 After the first moult in the autumn the 

 young birds are dull brownish-black, the 

 feathers on the upper parts margined with 

 lighter colour, on the under parts the 

 feathers are margined with dull white, and 

 where the gorget should be the feathers are 

 margined as in the upper parts ; bill dark 

 brownish-black ; legs rather lighter. The 

 lower figure represents the bird in this stage 

 from a specimen in my own collection. 



Varieties. — I have seen several speci- 

 mens with white feathers about the head, 

 and Selby says that white and ashy grey 

 ones have occurred. 



Note. — The song consists of but a few 

 notes, loud, sweet, and clear. It has also a 

 note of alarm something like that of the 

 blackbird. 



Plight. — The flight is very similar to 

 that of the blackbird, 



Migration. — The ring ouzle is a sum- 

 mer migrant to this country. Its movements 

 are just the opposite to that of the fieldfare 

 and redwing, coming here to breed and 

 moving southward in the winter ; hence, 

 although it seldom breeds in the southern 

 counties, it is seen there regularly in its 

 spring and summer migrations. 



Food.— The food of this species consists 

 of similar fare to that of the last; it is parti- 

 cularly fond of ivy and juniper berries. 



Habitat. — Not rare in all the moun- 

 tainous parts of the northern parts of the 

 British Isles, breeding in all suitable places 

 in the north, and visiting the cultivated 

 parts in the spring and again in September 

 after the breeding season. 



Abroad it is found in most of the hilly 

 parts of Europe, and in winter in north 

 Africa, and rarely in some portions of Asia, 

 but the chief resort in winter does not seem 

 to be known. 



Nest. — The nest is very similar to that 

 of the blackbird, but is either placed upon 

 the ground or very near it, generally on a 

 sloping bank under a tuft of heather, or 

 against a rock side, always low down, and 

 at a place where herbage grows from the 

 rock. 



Eggs. — Generally four or five eggs are 

 laid ; they greatly resemble the eggs of the 

 blackbird, but are generally rather blunter 

 at the small end, the spots never so small 

 as in some of the blackbird's eggs, and the 

 ground colour brighter (fig. i). 



Varieties. — The eggs of this species 

 seem rather subject to vary. Figs- 2, 3, 

 and 4 are from Mrs. Battersby's collection. 

 One is recorded with the whole of the large 

 end chestnut brown, and the remainder 

 clear blue. Mr. Bond has seen two or three, 

 light blue without any spots. 



FAMILY IV. SYLVIAD/E. 



This family consists of all the small soft- 

 billed birds or warblers, generally very 

 sombre in colour', but excellent in song. 



