Ring Ouzel

The Ring Ouzel, often nicknamed the "mountain blackbird," is a close relative of the familiar Common Blackbird but restricted to wilder, more remote upland habitats, and is a summer visitor to much of its European range rather than a year-round resident.

Appearance

The male is essentially black, like a Blackbird, but with a bold, crescent-shaped white band across the upper breast and pale, scaly fringing to the wing feathers. Females are duller, sooty-brown rather than black, with a less distinct, greyer-white breast crescent.

Key Field Marks

• Male: black plumage with a bold white breast crescent
• Female: duller sooty-brown with a less distinct, greyer crescent
• Pale, scaly fringes to the wing feathers, visible at rest
• Restricted largely to upland/montane habitats during the breeding season

Similar Species

Common Blackbird lacks any white breast crescent and typically occurs in lowland woodland and gardens rather than open moorland and crags. Some female Blackbirds can show a faint pale throat mottling, but never the clean, bold crescent of the Ring Ouzel, and the two species' habitats rarely overlap during the Ring Ouzel's breeding season.

Habitat

Ring Ouzels breed on open, rocky moorland, upland heath, and mountain slopes with crags, gullies, and scattered low scrub, typically at higher elevations than the Blackbird — a genuinely wild, remote habitat preference.

Range and Migration

The species breeds in upland areas across parts of Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia, and mountain ranges of central and southern Europe including the Alps and Pyrenees. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering mainly around the Mediterranean and in North Africa, including the Atlas Mountains, and its populations in some regions, including upland Britain, have declined markedly.

Behavior

Ring Ouzels are typically wary and easily disturbed, often flying off with a loud chattering alarm call at the first sign of disturbance. They forage on the ground for invertebrates in short upland turf and feed heavily on berries, particularly juniper and rowan, before and during migration.

Voice

The song is a rather simple, far-carrying, fluty phrase repeated with pauses, evocative of the wild, open landscapes it inhabits. The alarm and flight call is a harsh, chattering rattle, louder and more strident than the calls of the Common Blackbird.

Nesting and Breeding

The nest, built low in heather, a rock crevice, or a low crag ledge, is a cup of grass, moss, and mud similar in construction to a Blackbird's. The female lays 3-5 eggs and incubates them for about 12-14 days, with pairs typically raising two broods across the short upland breeding season.