Blackbird
(Turdus merula)
No matter what the time of day, look to the highest viewpoint and you’ll often find a male blackbird singing its heart out. Most commonly seen in the garden stomping on the ground, pedalling their feet to entice earthworms to the surface, blackbirds also enjoy surveying their kingdom from the tallest treetop around.
We are so familiar with the British blackbird, often scuffling around in bushes and hopping across our lawns. Males are a rich, glossy black with bright orange beaks and eye rings. Females are dark brown in colour, making for excellent camouflage when sitting on eggs.
Some say the blackbird’s delicate, repeated refrains are even more beautiful than the nightingale’s famous song. While their melodious voices carry across the cities, suburbs and lanes of Britain, they also have a very different call for when danger is heading their way. The blackbird’s alarm call is a soft ‘poot poot’ to warn its young of passers-by, before scaring them away with a sharp cry!
