Field Guide
🐦
Ring Ouzel
Turdus torquatus
Not yet photographed by the community
Mountain blackbird with a white crescent bib.
Species Profile
Red List (UK Birds of Conservation Concern)
- Lifespan
- 8–10 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 20–24 cm, wingspan 33–39 cm; 40–55 g
- Habitat
- Rocky upland moorland, mountainous terrain, and steep hillsides with sparse vegetation, typically at 300+ metres elevation.
- UK Distribution
- Breeding summer visitor to upland areas of northern England, Wales, and Scotland, April to September. Winter range includes Mediterranean region; increasingly rare as a breeding bird in the UK.
- Diet
- Primarily invertebrates including beetles, caterpillars, and worms during breeding season; switches to fruits and berries in autumn, especially bilberries and rowan.
- Prey
- Beetles, caterpillars, earthworms, spiders, and small invertebrates
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, merlins, and occasionally crows and foxes targeting eggs and young
- Mating Season
- April to July
- Breeding
- Clutch of 3–5 blue-green eggs, incubation period 12–14 days, fledging at 14–16 days. Typically one brood per season.
- Behaviour
- A solitary and wary bird, males are highly territorial and vocally active during breeding season. Ring Ouzels perch prominently on rocks and perform characteristic wing-dropping displays. They migrate between UK breeding grounds and Mediterranean wintering areas.
- •Named for the distinctive white or cream crescent marking on the male's breast, resembling a 'ring'
- •Once more widespread across UK uplands, but populations have declined by over 50% in the past 30 years
- •Males arrive at breeding territories before females and sing from prominent rocky outcrops
- •The species is the only truly alpine breeding thrush regularly found in the British uplands
- •Ring Ouzels return to the same territories year after year if successful, showing high site fidelity
🐦
No photos yet
Be the first to photograph a Ring Ouzel and share it with the community.