ouzel (redirected from ousels)

ouzel

 or ousel

Ring-ouzel (Turdus torquatus).

(credit: Drawing by John P. O'Neill/EB Inc.)

Species (Turdus torquatus) of songbird in the thrush family, characterized by a white crescent on the breast. A blackish bird, about 10 in. (25 cm) long, it breeds locally in uplands from Britain and Norway to the Middle East. The name was formerly applied to a closely related European blackbird (T. merula). The dipper is often called water ouzel.

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ouzel, ousel

1. short for ring ouzel or water ouzel (see dipper)

2. an archaic name for the (European) blackbird