Field Guide
🐦
Blackbird
Turdus merula
Not yet photographed by the community
Common garden thrush; males jet black, females brown.
Species Profile
Green List (of least concern in the UK)
- Lifespan
- 10–20 years in the wild, with some individuals recorded living longer in captivity
- Size & Weight
- 24–29 cm, wingspan 34–38 cm; 75–107 g
- Habitat
- Gardens, parks, woodlands, hedgerows, and scrubland with dense vegetation and leaf litter for foraging.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout the UK as a resident year-round, with populations supplemented by continental migrants in autumn and winter.
- Diet
- Omnivorous, feeding on earthworms, insects, grubs, and berries, especially rowan, hawthorn, and ivy berries in autumn and winter.
- Prey
- Earthworms, beetle larvae, grubs, insects, and invertebrates; supplemented with fruit
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, cats, stoats, and occasionally corvids; chicks are vulnerable to magpies and jays
- Mating Season
- March to July
- Breeding
- Clutch size 3–5 eggs, incubation period 11–14 days, fledging period 12–16 days; typically 2 broods per year, sometimes 3
- Behaviour
- Males are highly territorial and vocal, with a distinctive flute-like song used to defend breeding territories. They forage by characteristically hopping along the ground and turning over leaf litter. Social structure varies seasonally; males are solitary and aggressive during breeding but may tolerate females.
- •Male blackbirds are jet black with a bright orange-yellow bill and eye-ring, while females are brown with a speckled breast, making them superficially resemble thrushes
- •The male's song is one of the most beautiful and recognisable in the UK, often one of the first birds to sing at dawn and among the last to stop at dusk
- •Blackbirds have excellent learning abilities and can adapt their song regionally, with some populations having distinct 'dialects'
- •They were once considered garden pests due to their scratching behaviour but are now beloved garden visitors and indicator species of garden health
- •The species has shown considerable range expansion northwards into Scotland over recent decades, likely due to milder winters and increased garden feeding
🐦
No photos yet
Be the first to photograph a Blackbird and share it with the community.