GARDEN BIRDS 4- THE BLACKBIRD

 

Hi! Welcome back to the fourth post of my Garden Birds section. Today we will be talking about the Blackbird, or Turdus Merula. The photo above is of a male blackbird that I took in my garden a few weeks ago. The females, however, look something like this.... (not taken by me)

I know! Not black at all! But once you get the hang of it, you should be able to ID these birds very quickly. Blackbirds are in the same family as the thrushes (as are the redwings, which you can read about here!), so they are a lot bigger than the other birds I've talked about. 

They feed on worms, like the robin, and can often be seen hauling one of those unfortunate invertebrates out of the earth. It also has one of the most beautiful and tuneful songs- my bird ID book describes it as 'slow, rich, melodic, without repetition'. 

They are very common in areas with woodland and will frequently visit gardens. There is a pair inspecting my garden at the moment and I hope there will be some blackbird chicks later in the year!

See you next time! 😀