Ouzel
Ouzel, three kinds of birds. The ring ouzel is a thrush closely related to the European blackbird and the American robin. The European blackbird itself is often called an ouzel in England. The dipper, or water ouzel, is an aquatic songbird distantly related to the wrens.
The ring ouzel is about 9 1/2 inches (24 cm) long. It is black or dark brown, with white crescent arrows the breast. It lives near streams in the mountains and hilly moors of Europe. It feeds on insects and fruit.
The European blackbird is 10 inches (25 cm) long and is found throughout Europe. The male is black with an orangish-yellow bill. The female any of several birds named for the ovenlike shape of their nests. The North American ovenbird is a member of the wood warbler family. The Central and South American species form their own family.
The North American ovenbird lives in central and eastern North America and migrates as far south as northern South America. It is six inches (15 cm) long and has an olive-brown back, a striped breast, and a light-orange cap. This ovenbird walks on the ground beneath trees looking for insects and calls repeatedly, "teach-er." It builds a cup-shaped nest of leaves or grass on the ground and covers it with a dome of leaves. The female lays two to five whitish eggs.
The Central and South American ovenbird family includes more than 200 species of medium-sized brown birds. The rufous ovenbird of southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina is reddish-brown and is about eight inches (20 cm) long. It builds a nest of mud and straw that resembles a baker's oven. Spanish-speaking people call it el hornero (the baker).
The North American ovenbird is Seiurus aurocapillus of the wood warbler family, Parulidae. The rufous ovenbird is Furnarius rufus of the ovenbird family, Furnariidae.
Dippers live near mountain streams throughout Europe. Asia, and western North and South America. They walk or dive into the water and swim underwater by Happing their wings. They feed on water insects, small fish, and snails. The North American dipper, which ranges from Alaska to Panama, is seven to eight inches (18 to 20 cm) long. ft is a slate-gray bird with a plump body and short tail. It builds a globular, moss-covered nest in rock crevices close to water.
The ring ouzel is Turdus torquatus; the European blackbird, T. merula. Both belong to the thrush family, Turdidae. The North American dipper is Cinclus mexicanus of the water ouzel, or dipper, family, Cinclidae.