Gunther Zieger

Medium-sized thrush, feeds mainly on invertebrates in spring and early summer, seeds and fruits, in winter found around juniper thickets feeding on its berries (Ryall & Briggs 2006). Nominate torquatus breeds in Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland and Brittany; alpestris in mountains of C and S Europe; amicorum in Caucasus and E Turkey. Torquatus prefers open moorland or fell; alpestris conifer woodlands, especially margins near moist open grass or moors; amicorum upper forest belts, rhododendron thickets and in shrubs on cliffs, nests often on ground. The european population is stable and the status is Least Concern. Migratory to resident.

Season of assessment

B

Population trendStable
Population size
(min-max, best estimate)		552000-1160000,779000
Red List categoryLC
Franks, S., Fiedler, W., Arizaga, J., Jiguet, F., Nikolov, B., van der Jeugd, Ambrosini, R, Aizpurua, O., Bairlein, F., Clark, J., Fattorini, N, Hammond, M., Higgins, D, Levering, H., Skellorn, W., Spina, F, Thorup, K. Walker, J., Woodward, I. and Baillie, S.R. (1) (2022) Online Atlas of the movements of European bird populations. https://migrationatlas.org EURING/CMS (1) Principal investigator
Map

Overall Connectivity for Ring Ouzel

Scandinavian breeders move mainly NE - SW, most encounters are in S France, furthermore encounters in the Low Countries, UK, N Italy, E Spain, Morocco and Algeria. Breeders from the UK move mainly NNW - SSE, most encounters in SW France but also many in Spain and Morocco; few encounters in SE France, Italy and Algeria. Breeders from C and S Europe move mainly NE - SW, to S and E Spain and Morocco. From E Europe birds move N - S to Italy, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Recoveries by Condition for Ring Ouzel

Annual number of encounters increased from about 15 before 1960 to 56 in 1968. Then they decreased to 10 - 25 between 1977 and 2007. From 2008 numbers increased again to maximum of  79 in 2017. Most encounters are from 28 September to 28 October. Also many encounters in spring between 11 April and 31 May.
Until 1960 about 88% of recoveries were dead birds, including about 57% shot birds. Between 1960 and 1990 the percentage dead birds was still relatively high with 81%, including 49% shot. After 1990 about 13% concerned dead birds, including 3% shot birds. Most birds were shot in France and E Spain, furthermore also in Morocco, Algeria and N Italy.

Annual Movements for Ring Ouzel

In Jan - Feb most birds are near the Mediterranean coast of France and Spain or in Morocco and Algeria, a few birds stay in the UK, S Norway and NW Europe. In Mar they start moving N, but most birds are still in S Europe. In Apr most birds have arrived in the breeding areas in UK and the first birds arrived in S Scandinavia and in C and S Europe, but many still migrating in W and S Europe or still in N Africa. From May - Aug the birds are in the breeding areas. In Sep most birds have left Scandinavia, about 50% of the birds have left UK. Many birds have reached S Europe in Sep but some migrating in NW Europe. In Oct the first birds reached N Africa, most birds are in S Europe but also birds migrating in NW Europe and UK. In Nov - Dec most birds are in S France, N Italy, SE Spain and Morocco.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Ring Ouzel

Birds from Scandinavia are most times reported in S France from Oct - Apr; there are also recoveries in the UK in Oct and Apr, in C Europe and N Italy in Oct, in E Spain in Oct - Nov, in Morocco in Jan - Mar and in Algeria in Oct and Jan - Apr. Birds from the UK have most recoveries in SW and SE France from Oct - Apr. They are also reported in E Spain from Oct - Mar, in Morocco from Nov - Apr, in Algeria in Oct and Mar, in Germany in Jun and Italy in Oct, Nov and Mar. Birds from C and S Europe have recoveries in SE France and E Spain from Oct - Apr and in Morocco from Jan - Apr. Tracking indicates two-thirds of birds from the Alps winter in Morocco, one-third in Spain (Barras et al 2021). 

Henk van der Jeugd

References

Statistics Map
N records N individuals N recoveries
Mapped data*
Total available data
*Mapped data include only distant (>= 50 km) recoveries
References Map
Barras, A.G., Liechti, F., Arlettaz, R.2021 . Seasonal and daily movement patterns of an alpine passerine suggest high flexibility in relation to environmental conditions. Journal of Avian Biology 52 article no.: 2860 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.02860)
Ryall, C., Briggs, K.2006 . Some factors affecting foraging and habitat of ring ouzels Turdus torquatus wintering in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. ABC Bulletin 13: 60–74

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