Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzel

Taxobox
name = Ring Ouzel
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Turdidae
genus = "Turdus"
species = "T. torquatus"
binomial = "Turdus torquatus"
binomial_authority = Linnaeus, 1758

The Ring Ouzel ("Turdus torquatus") is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.

It is the mountain equivalent of the closely-related Blackbird, and breeds in gullies, rocky areas or scree slopes.

It breeds in the higher regions of western and central Europe and also in the Caucasus. Most populations are migratory, wintering in the Mediterranean region.

The Ring Ouzel is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms and berries. It nests in bushes or amongst rocks, laying several pale blue eggs, mottled with brown, in a neat cup-shaped nest.

It is territorial and normally seen alone or in pairs, although loose flocks may form on migration. When not breeding, several birds may also be loosely associated in good feeding areas, such as a fruiting tree, often with other thrushes.

The adult male is all black except for a white crescent on the breast and a yellowish bill. The wings have a silvery appearance due to white feather edgings. The male sings its loud and mournful song from trees or rocks.

The female is similar but duller, and younger birds often lack the breast crescent. The juvenile has brown plumage.

This species was first described by Linnaeus in his "Systema naturae" in 1758 under its current scientific name. [la icon cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=C | authorlink=Carolus Linnaeus | title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. | publisher=Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). | date=1758| quote =T. nigricans, torque albo, rostro fiavescente. |pages=169]

"Ouzel" (or "ousel") is an old name for Blackbird from Old English "osle" [ [http://www.kami.demon.co.uk/gesithas/birdlore/listsrc.html] List of Old English bird names] . "Ouzel" may also be applied to a group of superficially similar but unrelated birds, the dippers, the European representative of which is sometimes known as the Water Ouzel.

As with the English name, the scientific name also refers to the male's obvious white neck crescent, being derived from the Latin words "turdus", "thrush", and "torque", "torc" (neck ring).

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* Clement and Hathaway, "Thrushes" ISBN 0-7136-3940-7


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  • ring ouzel — n. a European thrush (Turdus torquatus) with a white band on its neck and breast * * * …   Universalium

  • ring ouzel — n. a European thrush (Turdus torquatus) with a white band on its neck and breast …   English World dictionary

  • Ring Ouzel — baltagurklis strazdas statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Turdus torquatus angl. Ring Ouzel vok. Ringdrossel …   Paukščių anatomijos terminai

  • ring ouzel — baltagurklis strazdas statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Turdus torquatus angl. ring ouzel vok. Ringdrossel, f rus. белозобый дрозд, m pranc. merle à plastron, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – tikrieji strazdai …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • ring ouzel — /ˈrɪŋ uzəl/ (say ring oohzuhl) noun an ouzel cock, Turdus torquatus, which breeds in northern Europe and migrates to Africa …  

  • ring ouzel — noun European thrush common in rocky areas; the male has blackish plumage with a white band around the neck • Syn: ↑ring blackbird, ↑ring thrush, ↑Turdus torquatus • Hypernyms: ↑thrush • Member Holonyms: ↑Turdus, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • ring ouzel — noun Date: circa 1674 a dark Old World thrush (Turdus torquatus) with the male having a white breast band …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • ring ouzel — noun an upland bird resembling a blackbird, with a white crescent across the breast. [Turdus torquatus.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • ring-ouzel — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ouzel — may refer to: Common Blackbird or Ouzel, a species of thrush, all black in the male Lord Howe Island Thrush or Ouzel, an extinct subspecies of the Island Thrush River Ouzel, a river in England, a tributary of the Great Ouse See also Ring Ouzel, a …   Wikipedia

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