Ring Ouzel

This bird from the family of thrushes is closely related to the common blackbird. It is endemic to, and often found on the edges of, forested foothills and mountain forests. The male has a white (and the female an off-white) horseshoe-shaped pattern on its breast. It feeds off the ground, on various invertebrates, though various fruits (often plucked straight from the branch) also form an important part of its diet. It builds its nest in mountain forests, and even near the subalpine tree line, from April through June; two broods per year have been observed. The ring ouzel population in the Czech Republic is estimated at 1,500 – 2,500 breeding pairs.