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Blackbird (Turdus Merula)
Overview
One of the easiest garden birds to identify. The males Blackbird is black with the females being brown.
Description
The male of the species is jet black with a bright yellow beak. The female bird is similar in size but is brown in colour. They are very territorial in nature and if other blackbirds encroach on their territory they are very fast in trying to remove them from their patch. They are the first bird in the morning to start the dawn chorus and usually the last bird to singing in the evening.
Distribution
Throughout the UK
Habitat
Found in most gardens in the UK. Also found in most hedgerows and countryside.
Breeding
They make their nest from vegetation combined with some mud for reinforcement. The eggs are brown freckled greenish blue in colour and the blackbird lay between 3 and 5 eggs in each clutch. In a season they may have from 2 to 4 clutches.
Food
Will eat berries as soon as they ripen including garden fruits raspberries and strawberries. They also like earthworms and insects.
Population Trends
Almost 5 million breeding pairs in the UK. There are approximately 10 to 15 million Blackbirds wintering here too.
