Blackbird

Description:

The glossy black plumage and the orange-yellow bill and eye ring of the mature male Blackbird makes it easily recognisable. The mature female has dark-brown upper parts and underparts, and yellow-brown bill. The underparts are speckled and she usually has a pale throat (but not to be confused with the white-throated Ring Ouzel, see photo below).

Habitat:

The Blackbird feeds on insects and earthworms taken from the ground either by probing the ground, such as a lawn, or noisily turning over leaf litter with its bill. Like the Song Thrush, the Blackbird often runs across the garden, pauses briefly before taking some food, then runs back to cover. Unlike the Song Thrush it rarely eats snails, though there are increasing reports of Blackbirds stealing snails that Song Thrushes have cracked open. More unusual food has included Blackbirds taking tadpoles, newts, and small fish. In the autumn they will often spend much time eating cotoneaster berries and windfall fruits (e.g. apples), which they will aggressively defend from other birds. The Blackbird will feed off the ground or from a ground table, taking sultanas and raisins, and kitchen scraps.

Notes:

Blackbirds in the UK are mostly resident, though a few do migrate to southern Europe for the winter. In the winter our population increases manifold (up to 20 million) with birds migrating from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Many of these migrants have duller bills than our resident birds.