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26

Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) German name(s): "Ringdrossel" Size: 24-26 cm; wing span: 38-42 cm Weight: 95-120 g

Europe: Family Group 26 Family Group 26 Table Crested Lark Thekla's Lark Zitting Cisticola Great Reed Warbler Eurasian Reed Warbler Sedge Warbler Marsh Warbler Savi's Warbler Icterine Warbler Melodious Warbler Cetti's Warbler Redwing Fieldfare Mistle Thrush Song Thrush Ring Ouzel Common Blackbird Common Starling Spotless Starling Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Ring Ouzels are medium-sized Eurasian thrushes. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Breeding males of nominate race torquatus are all-black, except for a white chest crescent. Those of the southern race "alpestris" have silvery edge lining on their feathers below the crescent, giving them a scaly appearance. Breeding females have a duller, brownish-white chest crescent and are more brownish in colour overall. In eclipse the chest crescent of males becomes very inconspicuous; that of females may not be visible at all during winter. First-winter males resemble females, with some more scaly structure from thin edge lining of their feathers.

Taxonomy, classification See Ring Ouzel at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Ring Ouzel is available HERE . Ring Ouzels are a mostly migratory Eurasian species. Their range extends from subtropical north-western Africa to South of the Caspian Sea and from central northern Africa to the North Cape. Apart from the slopes of the Caucasus mountain range, their breeding range is restricted to Europe (see below). Their winter quarters are primarily in south-eastern Europe, North Africa, near-coastal Asia Minor and southward of the Caucasus. On migration they can be found around the Caucasus, in the western half of Asia Minor, and south-eastern, central and large parts of Europe. Within their total range there are only small areas in which the Ring Ouzel is sedentary, mostly in parts of Bulgaria, but also in isolated pockets around the Mediterranean Sea. The majority is migratory, breeding almost exclusively in mountain regions (Scottish Highlands, Pyrenees, Alps, Balkans, High Tatras, Carpathians, Norway and the central Kola peninsula). There are some breeders in central European low mountain ranges as well. The European winter quarters are, except for a small part of eastern Iberia, the lower Danube valley and much of Greece. On migration between summer and winter range, they spread across most of Iberia (except the western quarter), all of south-eastern, southern, central and western Europe, including the British Isles, plus southern Scandinavia. They are not found anywhere eastward of a line connecting approximately the Danube delta with the Oder river.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "torquatus" M. Eaton reports spotting Ring Ouzels, nominate race "torquatus", at Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, in June 2018. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by M. Eaton.

Photos

Race "torquatus"

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Frontal view of a male Ring Ouzel; note the white breast band (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Near-frontal view of a male Ring Ouzel (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a male Ring Ouzel with food for its brood (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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