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Common Blackbird

Common Blackbird

Turdus merula

Identify the Common Blackbird by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Common Blackbird is a widespread thrush of Europe, western Asia and North Africa, introduced to Australia and New Zealand. Males are all black with a yellow-orange bill and eye-ring, while females and young are dark brown. Famous for its rich, fluting song, it lives in woods, parks and gardens. Depending on latitude it is resident, partially migratory or fully migratory.

Did you know?

  • In old English only small birds were “birds”, so the blackbird was the most conspicuous “black bird”.
  • It is not related to American “blackbirds”, which are icterids.

Voice

Song
Call
Flight call
Alarm call

About the species

Identification

The male is entirely black with a yellow bill and eye-ring. The female is dark brown with a paler throat and diffuse spotting on the breast; young birds resemble females and are more spotted. It differs from other thrushes in the male's all-black plumage and the female's dark brown look, lacking bold breast spots or a pale supercilium.

Family

Turdidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

black, yellow

About the habitat

Woodland, forest edges, parks, gardens and hedgerows with dense cover and open ground for feeding.

Diet

Mainly earthworms, insects and other invertebrates, as well as berries and fruit, especially outside the breeding season.

Behaviour

Forages on the ground by hopping, pausing and tossing leaves aside. Males are territorial and sing from prominent perches, often at dusk and even under streetlights at night; both sexes give a sharp, metallic alarm call. It builds a neat, mud-bound cup nest low in shrubs or trees and may raise several broods.

Sources

Photo: Hobbyfotowiki, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amselmännchen der Unterart T. m. azorensis auf Terceira.jpg

Sound: craig wilson, XC1051538, CC BY 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/1051538

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC974916, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/974916

Sound: Joost van Bruggen, XC436361, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/436361

Sound: Mirko Tomasi, XC965144, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/965144

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_blackbird

See also