MERULA TORQUATA.
Ring'-Ousel.
Turdus torquatus, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 80.
Menila torquata, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552.
Sylvia torquata, Savi, Om. Tose., tom. i. p. 206.
Copsichus torquatus, Kaup, Natiirl. SystAp. 157.
Mmda mmtarn, callaris et alpestri,, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl., pp. 375, 376, 377, tab. 21. fig. 6.
■ U MBfflU the bc S B - I migratory b ird ; for it comes and goes as
regularly as the Fieldfare and the R edw in g ,-b u t, anlike those birds, is a summer a„d not a winter sojourner
its arrival taking place April, and its departure in the month of September. Its spring migration is very
different from its autumnal movement; for it arrives singly'or in small parties, and generally goes direct toils
breed,ng.gronnds on the hills ; while m antnmn it is spread over the conntry, and we find both old and yonng
in the lowlands, and sometimes ,n the gardens. They then gradnally movetmthward, and before the cold
weather sets iniw.ll all have departed to the western p art of France, Portngal, and Spain, whence they
again push onwards to the shores o f the Mediterranean, and across that sea to their winter quarters in
Morocco and other parts o f North Africa.
Unlike the Blackbird, which locates itself in lowland woods, shrubberies, and gardens, the Ring-Ousel
resorts to the wildest tracts of our mountains, and there, for from the haunts of man, it breeds‘ generally
constructing its nest among the rocks of the wildest glens and the most rugged watercourses but
occasionally in jumper hushes or patches o f furae on the mountainside, high up on wild moors, tors and
peaks, where the drumming of the snipe is heard, the raven utters its sonorous croak, the T itlark and Wheat-
ear are its companions, and the dashing Merlin its enemy. Generally speaking, wherever there are rocky
mountains o f above a thousand feet elevation, in any p art of Britain, this spirited bird is to be found • s'o
that the rugged parts of old Cornwall, the Dart- and Ex-moors of Devon, the greater part of Wales Der
byshire, Cumberland, the Pentlands, the Grampians, and the bleak hills of Sutherland- and Ross-shirés are
among the places on the mainland frequented by i t f while the islands to the north and w e stw a rd -th e Orkneys,
Shetland, and the Hebrides—and all suitable situations in Ireland, are not less resorted to
Mr. Stevenson, speaking of the Ring-Onsel as seen in Norfolk, remarks th'at it is a regular migrant but
has been known occasionally to nest in that country; ■■ and although probably overlooked from its general
resemblance to the common Blackbird, and the similarity in the eggs of the two species, it is not improbable
that a few pairs may breed nearly every year in favourable districts; and I have reason to believe tfiat such is
the case a t Holkham.”
Mr. Ryland, of Horsey, informed Mr. Stevenson that he generally saw several every year in the early
spring, and in May 1857 watched four, morning after morning, on the grass in front of his window ■ and as
constantly did an old Missel-Thrnsll descend from an oak hard by, where She had a nest, and attack first
one and then another, until she drove them away, showing that she would not permit o f intruders, as these
birds really were.
In disposition the Ring-Ousel is bold and spirited, perches with upright breast on the very summit o f the
rock, and springs from stone to stone with the greatest agility. At times, however, it is shy and recluse, but,
when driven from the bush in which it has secreted itself, flies with surprising rapidity, uttering as it goes I
loud defiant whistle, or, on again alighting on a stone or crag, its peculiar chattering notes, reminding us
o f the Petrocossyphi or Rock-Thrushes, to which, in my opinion, it is nearly allied.
It has always been an object with me while writing the present work to render as much general information
as may be in my power respecting the range o f the species over countries beyond our own. This in
fact is essential; for every one, I should suppose, would like to know whither this bird, for example, goes when
it leaves us, and whence it has come when it returns. The Ring-Ousel is by no means a cosmopolite; for it is
not found in India, nor in Africa south o f the equator, neither is it an inhabitant of America. In Europe, on
the o ther hand, it is so generally dispersed that it may be said to frequent every country suited to its habits and
economy. In the Alps and the Apennines, as a matter o f course, it is plentiful, as it is in the Tyrol in the
east, and the highlands of Norway and Finland in the north, while in the low country o f Holland it is a
scarce bird. Southward o f the Mediterranean, we learn from Loche that it winters in the provinces of Algeria
and Constantine. On the continent of Europe, as with us, it is a migrant—not that every one leaves a
country or a district. To most rules there is an exception ; and a Swallow or a Black-cap remaining with
us does not constitute those birds permanent residents any the more. I have remarked that a considerable