In all but the northernmost part of its range, this is a high-altitude species, with three races breeding in mountains from Ireland east to Iran.

It breeds in open mountain areas with some trees or shrubs, the latter often including heather, conifers, beech, hairy alpenrose or juniper.

It is a migratory bird, leaving the breeding areas to winter in southern Europe, North Africa and Turkey, typically in mountains with juniper bushes.

The ring ouzel is omnivorous, eating invertebrates, particularly insects and earthworms, some small vertebrates, and a wide range of fruit.

With an extensive range and a large population, the ring ouzel is evaluated as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

There are signs of decline in several countries; suspected causes including climate change, human disturbance, hunting and outdoor leisure activities.

[3] "Ring Ouzel" was first used by John Ray in his 1674 Collection of English Words not Generally Used and became established with his 1678 book The Ornithology of Francis Willughby of Middleton in the County of Warwick.

[4][5][6] As with the English term, the scientific name also refers to the male's prominent white neck crescent, being derived from the Latin words turdus, "thrush", and torquatus, "collared".

Details of the study suggest that the ring ouzel, a member of the Eurasian group, may be more closely related to Naumann's and dusky thrushes than to the superficially more similar common blackbird.

[15] The Alpine ring ouzel, T. t. alpestris Brehm, C L (1831) breeds in mountain ranges from Iberia through southern and central Europe to the Balkans, Greece and western Turkey, and also in North Africa.

[15][16] The Caucasian ring ouzel, T. t. amicorum Hartert E (1923) breeds in central and eastern Turkey east to Turkmenistan, and winters mainly in Iran and parts of Iraq.

[15][17] Analysis of mitochondrial DNA samples from across Europe suggests that this species had a much broader distribution after the Last Glacial Period that ended about 11,700 years ago than it does now.

The plumage of the male of the nominate race is entirely black except for a conspicuous white crescent on the breast, narrow greyish scaling on the upperparts and belly and pale edges to the wing feathers.

[19] Males of T. t. alpestris have broader white scalloping (repeated small curves) on their underparts than T. t. torquatus, giving a distinctly scaly appearance below.

[20] Adult ring ouzels undergo a complete moult after breeding from late June to early September, before their autumn migration.

It is a passage migrant in Syria and a vagrant to Iceland, Jordan, the Arabian Peninsula, Sudan, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Svalbard and Jan Mayen.

[15] In middle latitudes, the ring ouzel is a bird of continental mountains, but in the north of its range, it is found in coastal uplands.

[20] In Armenia and the Caucasus, it occupies similar steep habitat with conifer stands, rhododendron thickets, and juniper scrub and shrub, from sea level to 2,000–3,000 metres (6,600–9,800 ft).

On migration, ouzels may occur on coastal grassland and steep hillsides with short, unsown wild grass and sparse scrub.

Territories may be strung out along streams, 160–200 metres (520–660 ft) apart and the ranges may overlap, but this species does not form breeding colonies.

[15] The ring ouzel is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms, small amphibians and reptiles and fruit.

[20] During spring migration and the breeding season, invertebrates dominate the diet, and include earthworms, beetles flies, ants, spiders and snails.

[29] A study in the Carpathian Mountains found that a significant proportion of ring ouzels carried trombiculid mites, commonly known as chiggers.

[1] A Scottish study suggested that sites at higher altitudes and with a good cover of heather were less likely to have been deserted by breeding ring ouzels than lower or more open locations.