Description: Blackbird standing on a lichen-covered branch. The bird is facing to the right of the frame and the background is blurred green.
The Eurasian Blackbird is a medium-sized black bird with yellow bill and yellow eyerings.
The male Blackbird is well-named, as it is an all-black bird. It has a bright yellow bill, and a thin yellow eye ring. The female Blackbird is a dark brown colour, usually with a slightly paler throat, brown bill and mottling on the breast.
What the Blackbird lacks in showy plumage, it more than makes up for as a songster. The male Blackbird’s song is wonderfully rich and fluty. When it begins singing again each year in late winter, or early spring, it’s a truly beautiful and uplifting sound, and it makes me think of the longer, warmer days to come.
Blackbirds are found throughout the UK and across large parts of continental Europe. I must admit that I tend to think of them as the quintessential bird of the British countryside. So imagine my surprise when I heard the distinctive song of the male Blackbird on my recent trip to Australia and New Zealand. I discovered later that Blackbirds, along with many other birds familiar to us in the UK, were introduced by people that had migrated to Australia because they were missing the sights and sounds of the birds of home. In today’s more enlightened times we understand that this is harmful for maintaining the natural biodiversity of New Zealand and Australia.
Blackbirds move in a very characteristic way. On the ground they will often run forward then suddenly stop, sometimes cocking their head to one side, as though listening intently. They also have a habit of flicking their longish tail quickly upwards, before slowly lowering it.
I learned recently about a couple of useful tips to help distinguish Blackbirds from Starlings (a similar sized bird that also appears black in some lighting conditions). Firstly, Starlings often form large (or very large) flocks, whereas Blackbirds never flock. So if you see a large flock of medium-sized dark birds from a distance, they’re almost certainly Starlings. Secondly, on landing, Starlings stop dead in their tracks. Blackbirds, on the other hand, will take a few steps forward as they land, to slow down.