Turdus torquatus

The Ring ouzel Turdus torquatus with a size of 24 cm is very similar to the common blackbird, from which it differs by the presence of a characteristic white crescent on the chest, which contrasts with the rest of the dark plumage. Due to the clear contours of the feathers, it has a scaly appearance.

The male has a white collar on the chest with the rest of the body being black, while the female is browner on the body with the collar being a narrower dull grayish white. All young specimens less than one year old, regardless of their sex, have the coloration of adult females.

Typical of northern areas or mountain areas, in Spain it is restricted as a breeder to the high mountain areas of the northern third of the peninsula, abundant especially in the Pyrenees, where it is located in open coniferous forests with abundant undergrowth. As a winterer, it occupies lower areas, especially in the eastern half of the peninsula (Teruel mountains, Tramontana mountains in Mallorca, Sierra de Cazorla y Segura and Ronda mountains in Malaga), preferably in open areas covered with junipers and junipers, whose fruits it eats. in this age.

The Ring ouzel gather in larger groups during the winter, while the rest of the year they lead a solitary life or in small groups.

It feeds on insects, earthworms and snails that it searches for in the leaf litter, as well as juniper fruits and other wild fruits. It returns to its breeding areas between March and April. During the breeding season, it deposits numerous eggs in nests made on the branches of a bush.

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