variation occurs between the Swiss birds and those of England, the Alpine birds being much lighter in colour,
and having the little crescentic marks on the belly broader and more defined than those o f the birds killed g
this country. The pectoral mark varies very considerably in different individuals, being small and dusky
some while it is large and snow-white in others ; in the female, which is otherwise similarly clothed to the male,
it is often suffused with brown, and in the young of the year is but faintly indicated. I am, able to sdite this
with certainty, after a careful examination of a number of specimens sent to me in the flesh by Sir John H.
Crewe Bart who had them shot a t different periods for the furtherance of this work. The figures of the young
birds iii the accompanying Plate were drawn from examples obtained by myself in the Dovrefjeld, in Norway,
where the bird was breeding in abundance a t an elevation of 5000 feet. In the neighbourhood of Jerkin
the young birds were ju st ready to leave the nest on the 1st of Ju ly ; so that by September they would have
become sufficiently strong to perform their southerly migration. The food of the Ring-Ousel, with as, consists
mainly of insects and their larvæ ; but, like the Thrush and Blackbird, it occasionally varies its diet with
fruits and berries, among which the Whortle, the Bilberry, the Juniper; and the MountainlAsh are included.
The Duke of Argyll tells me that in Argyllshire I the Ring-Ousel appears to be restricted in thè breeding-
season fo an altitude above the sea which declines as you go north, like the mota-line. I never saw it here
under an'elevation of 1000 feet, except in autumn, when it'comes down to eat the bernés o f several trees ;
b n fin Sutherlandshire I saw it along the wood-sides quite low down itf spring,” ” ' ' ' ¡ ¡ ¡ l i , ^ ,
Thirteen nests of the Ring-Oosel, from'the late Mr. Heysham's collection, were all alike in form, and
constructed of the same materials—namely, moss, roots, long'grasses, and mud intermingled, whffl, when
dry and hard, resembled the inside of a Thrush's nest ; interiorly they have a warm lining o f very fine'grasses
for the reception o f the eggs. These nests are of large size, some of them considerably exceeding that of a
Blackbird. .
The eggs, which are from four to six in number, are regularly oval, and of a pale bluish green, freckled all
over with pale brown, so much like those o f the Blackbird as not readily to be distinguished with certainty.
All writers who have seen the “ Mountain-Ousel ” in a state Of nature, speak highly of its vocal powers ;
and their remarks to a certain extént are truthful ; for, besides a series Of chattering notes which'it freely
utters on the approach of an intruder, its carol is pleasing and melodious, sweeter than that of a Thrush, but
less spirited and vigorous, Unlike that of its near ally thè Blackbird, but somewhat resembling ih quality the
short but cheery song of Petrocossyphus cyaneus, the Merle bleu of the French, the *' Sparrow on the housetop
” of Scripture. “ I was delighted with the song of the Ring-Ousel, which was to be heard through every
clump o f birch ” (St. John, < Tour in Sutherlandshire '). “ O f all the Thrushes, perhaps the wild desultory
carol of the Ring-Ousel is thè loudest and clearest " (Wheelwright, ‘ Spring and Summer in Lapland ’).
“ When alarmed, it utters a repetition of strong clear notes, like those of a Blackbird, but louder ; and its
song consists o f a few simple loud and mellow n otes” (Macgillivray, • History of British B ird s ') :" "
The adult male in the hreeding-season has the bill yellow, clouded with dark marks oil' the upper mandible,
and the naked lash which surrounds the eye pale olive-yellow ; the tarsi and toes are reddish black.
The colouring of these parts of the female is similar, but more clouded than in the male.
The young, when they leave the nest, are without a trace of the white crescentic mark on the breast, have
the under surface crossed with wavy lines o f black and yellowish white, the ihside of the month lemon-
yellow, and the legs and feet purplish brown.
The Plate represents the male, female, and young, of the natural size.