Common Blackbird

Turdus merula

Sings your message at dawn whether you asked for it or not. Beautiful voice, zero boundaries.

Population: Global: roughly 145–220 million mature individuals (BirdLife International/IUCN, 2018 assessment); Europe alone (≈80% of global range) holds an estimated 79–160 million individuals, with an increasing population trend over the last three generations
Habitat: Woodland with dense undergrowth (especially deciduous), plus parks, gardens, hedgerows, and farmland; readily adapts to urban/suburban environments; occurs up to ~1,000 m elevation in Europe and up to ~2,300 m in North Africa
Fun fact: Despite its name, only the adult male Common Blackbird is glossy black (with a bright orange-yellow bill and eye-ring) — females and juveniles are sooty brown, and it is in fact a thrush, closely related to the American robin.
Range: Breeds across Europe, western Asia, North Africa, the Canary Islands, and parts of South/Central Asia (e.g. Himalayan subspecies); introduced and now established in Australia and New Zealand. Northern/continental populations migrate south in winter (as far as North Africa and tropical Asia); southern/western (e.g. British) populations are largely sedentary, supplemented by winter migrants from Scandinavia/the Baltics
Diet: Omnivorous — insects, earthworms, and other invertebrates found by turning over leaf litter/probing soil, plus seeds, berries and fruit; occasionally small amphibians and lizards
Size: 0.26 m
Wingspan: 0.36 m
Lifespan: 21 years

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