Birds · Passeriformes · Turdidae

Ring Ouzel

Turdus torquatus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The ring ouzel is the blackbird of the European high mountains: brownish black with a striking white crescent on the breast and pale-fringed wing feathers. It breeds in the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian Mountains and the mountains of central and northern Europe, always above or at the edge of the treeline. In winter much of the European population comes down to the juniper woods of southern Spain and the Atlas, where it feeds almost entirely on juniper berries.

Weight

90 g – 140 g

Size

23 cm – 27 cm

Lifespan

10 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

GeneralIt is told from the blackbird by a bold white crescent on the breast.
The juniper woods of south-eastern Spain and Sierra Nevada are an essential wintering ground for the European population: thousands of ring ouzels depend every winter on the juniper berry crop of those sierras.
It is far shyer than the common blackbird: it lives on open mountain, flies off at a great distance and is detected more by its dry, repeated alarm call than by direct sighting.