Blackbird
The blackbird, also known as the common blackbird or Eurasian blackbird, is a songbird characterized by its glossy all-black plumage, except for its yellow beak and eye rings. This bird belongs to the thrush family and is commonly found in woodlands, parks, gardens, and urban areas across Europe and Asia, with introductions in regions like New Zealand, Australia, and parts of northern Africa. Males are strikingly black, while females display a darker brown coloration with speckles, and both sexes possess a pleasant singing voice, particularly during dawn and dusk from February to August, which is their mating season.
Blackbirds typically nest in bushes or low trees, using materials like grass, leaves, and mud to create a bowl-shaped structure. The female lays three to nine eggs, and after a 12 to 14-day incubation period, the chicks hatch and remain dependent on their parents for food until they fledge about two weeks later. While blackbirds generally have a lifespan of two to three years, they face predation threats from various animals, such as cats and hawks, particularly during their early stages of life. Despite these challenges, the blackbird is not considered threatened, owing to its large and stable population.
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Blackbird
The blackbird, also called the common blackbird or Eurasian blackbird, is suitably named for its glossy, all-black plumage, or feathering. Only its yellow beak and the yellow rings around its eyes are not black. It is a common and pleasant songbird of Europe and Asia and is a member of the grouping of thrushes within the larger family which includes flycatchers and warblers.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Turdus
Species: Merula
The large family of birds to which the flycatchers and warblers belongs also includes a grouping, called a subfamily, of thrushes. One of the species within this family is the blackbird. Except for its yellow bill and a thin, yellow ring around each eye, the male blackbird is all glossy and black. The female is dark brown above and lighter brown underneath with speckles on her throat, chest, and underparts. An adult blackbird is up to 11 inches (28 centimeters) long and weighs between three and 4 1/2 ounces (85 to 127 1/2 grams).
The pleasant song of this species may be heard in woodlands, parks, and gardens, and in towns and cities across Europe and Asia. It has also been introduced into New Zealand, Australia, and the northernmost tip of Africa. On rare occasions the wind blows some migrating blackbirds into Canada and Greenland. The blackbird sings at dawn and in the evening, particularly between February and August. These are the months when the blackbird lives either alone or with its mate and is territorial since this is the mating season. After the mating season, the blackbird migrates in a flock to winter sites and roosts, or rests, with other blackbirds. Sometimes it may fly to northern Africa from colder parts of Europe. When a blackbird is alarmed it utters a shrill call.
The diet of the blackbird consists of worms, insects, soft fruit, and berries which grow in the winter. All its water comes from its food. While it is foraging for its own food, the bird must beware of cats, crows, magpies, and sparrowhawks, all of which hunt the blackbird. The young are especially vulnerable to predation.
The nest of the blackbird is bowl-shaped and made of grass, leaves, and mud. The female builds it in a bush, hedge, or low tree and then attracts her mate. She calls to him and then runs in front of him, raising her bill and stiffening her tail feathers. He then puffs his feathers and fans his tail. The two birds mate sometime between February and August. The warmer the climate, the later the blackbird mates. The female lays between three and nine eggs, usually four or five, and may have three or four broods, or groups of young, each year. After she incubates the blue-green, reddish-brown-spotted eggs for 12 to 14 days, the young hatch and begin eating what their parents bring them. The young leave the nest about two weeks after hatching and are protected by their parents until they can fly for the first time a few days later. A blackbird is able to mate for the first time when it is one to two years old. Some of the young from later broods die during the winter because they are not strong enough to survive and cannot find enough food. The lifespan of the blackbird is between two and three years. Due to their widespread population, the blackbird is not considered a threatened species.
Bibliography
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Blackbirds Browse by Shape.” All About Birds, 2024, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse/shape/Blackbirds. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.
“Common Blackbird - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio.” Animalia, 2024, animalia.bio/common-blackbird?taxonomy=180. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.