Ring Ouzel

Turdus torquatus

SIZE AND DESCRIPTION

24cm. Dull plumage, sooty black in male, sooty brown in female. White crescentic patch in male, often obscure in female and juvenile.

VOICE

Call an excitable ‘tack tack’. Song melodious, with 2–4 repeated flute-like tones.

HABITAT

Fairly uncommon summer visitor to remote uplands in Britain, also north-west Europe. Breeds mainly on rocky uplands. On migration occurs in scrubby areas and fields on the coast.

FOOD AND HABITS

Omnivorous, consuming a wide range of insects, rodents, lizards and berries. Nest a neat cup in bushes or among rocks.