The status and ecology of a remnant population of Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, Kerry

The Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus is one of the most poorly studied and understood breeding species in Ireland. The species breeds generally above 300m across northern and central Europe from Ireland to Fenno-Scandanavia and northwestern Russia and and Spain east to Turkmenistan and Iran (Cramp & Simmons 1998, del Hoyo et al. 2005). In continental Europe Ring Ouzels are birds of mountain steppe, including open coniferous forest, conifer-beech woodland, alpine scrub, heath and subalpine meadows above the tree line (del Hoyo et al. 2005). The nominate northern Fenno-Scandia subspecies T. torquatus torquatus (including the Irish and British populations) is believed to winter mainly in the Atlas Mountains of north-west Africa (del Hoyo et al. 2005). In Ireland and Britain, Ring Ouzels typically inhabit uplands up to 1,200m but also down to near sea level in parts of North