Ring Ouzel

Turdus torquatus

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Presence in the Strait: Migrant
Abundance: rare
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Mirlo capiblanco

Photograph: William Stephens, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 24 cm
Weight: 110 g

Presence in the Strait

Rare pre-saharan migrant.

Identification

Similar to a Blackbird but with a white halfmoon on its breast, underparts with a white scaly appearance and pale wings. Females are browner with narrower, duller chest-band. Juveniles are paler brown and less obviously scaled with no breast band. Hoarse and chattering call. Shy attitude similar to a Thrush.

Movements

Prenuptial migration is not very conspicuous, in March and April; postnuptial migration is more important with peaks in 2nd hf. October.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

27 %

Peak in October. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 15 September 1997
Latest record: 10 November 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Same genus in the Strait

Common Blackbird24–25 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Song Thrush23–23 cm · Seasonal
Redwing21–21 cm · Seasonal
Mistle Thrush27–27 cm · Resident
Fieldfare25.5–25.5 cm · Occasional

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
GBIF taxon key: 7865305

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: William Stephens, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Ring Ouzel

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Gallery