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Parque, Playa de las Américas, Tenerife
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The term "blackbird" primarily refers to the Common Blackbird (Turdus merula), a widespread and beloved songbird in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. In North America, the term can also refer to various species within the Icteridae family (e.g., Red-winged Blackbird), which are not evolutionarily related to the European blackbird.
Identification
Male: Adult males are entirely black with a bright orange-yellow bill and a distinctive yellow eye-ring.
Female:
Females are dark brown, often with a paler, mottled or streaked breast and a duller brown or yellowish-brown bill.
Juvenile:
Young birds are ginger-brown with extensive mottling or streaks, resembling the female but generally paler.
Habitat and Behavior
Blackbirds are highly adaptable and are a common sight in gardens, parks, woodlands, hedgerows, and urban areas. They are primarily ground feeders, hopping along the lawn, cocking their heads to the side to listen for earthworms just below the surface. They also forage for insects, caterpillars, and berries.
They are fiercely territorial, especially the males during the breeding season, but can be more gregarious in winter feeding areas.
Diet
Blackbirds are omnivorous. Their diet primarily consists of: Insects and Invertebrates: Earthworms, caterpillars, and other small insects.
Fruit and Berries: They eat a variety of wild and garden berries, as well as windfall apples and other soft fruits, especially in the autumn and winter.
Breeding and Nesting
The breeding season typically runs from March to July. The female builds a cup-shaped nest using twigs, grass, and mud, usually in a low shrub, bush, or tree.
Eggs:
The female lays a clutch of 3-5 bluish-green eggs with reddish-brown speckles.
Incubation:
The female incubates the eggs for about 14 days.
Fledging:
Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge (leave the nest) after another 10-19 days. The male often continues to feed the fledglings while the female starts the next brood.
Song
The male blackbird is renowned for its rich, mellow, and fluting song, which is one of the most loved sounds in British gardens. They sing from an elevated perch, typically in the early morning and late evening, and often after rain.
Cultural Significance
The blackbird is the national bird of Sweden. It has appeared in literature and music, notably in the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" and the Beatles' song "Blackbird". Spiritually, blackbirds are often associated with mystery, intuition, and transformation in various traditions.
Something not African? This little eastern screech owl was found Sunday high in a Botetourt County, Va., tree. c.2025 John M. Hudson | jmhudson1@mindspring.com
El tití cabeza blanca, mono tití cabeciblanco, tamarino algodonoso o pinche (Saguinus oedipus) es una especie de primate platirrino de la familia Callitrichidae, de hábitos diurnos y territoriales, que habitan al borde de los bosques o en las selvas secundarias al noroccidente de Colombia
A great blue heron leaves its perch in the Roanoke River in search of better fishing grounds in Roanoke County's Explore Park. ©2024 | John M. Hudson
Bears love late spring and early summer because that's when the blackberries come in. Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Carolina. ©2026 | John M. Hudson
I mostly like diving ducks of which the Pintail isn't one. But it is in my opinion they are the most graceful and elegant of the ducks. Its a dabbler and doesn't really dive like the divers. Also doesn't need the long runway to takeoff can just pop right off the water.
At the roadside pullout and parking location along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a view looking to the west-northwest while taking in a forested landscape setting with mountains under low clouds as a backdrop. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation in DxO PhotoLab 7. I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 7 where I added a Polarization, Foliage, and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.
Bluebells bloom at Eastertime along the banks of Catawba Creek on Dan and Charlotte Jones' Catawba Glen Farm near Fincastle, Va. 鲰26 | John M. Hudson
From a June 9 walk along Virginia's Blue Ridge Parkway: A trumpet flower attracts pollinators -- bees, butterflies, hummingbirds -- at the Blue Ridge Parkway's Taylor Mountsin overlook.
A setting extending to the northwest while taking in views across ocean waters off the coast of Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park. This was while hiking to Scorpion Rock Overlook. As there were still low clouds in places that early afternoon, I chose to minimize that by angling my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera downward and raise the horizon. I liked what sweeping look this added from the vantage overlook I was at.
I recently bought a field monitor to sit atop my camera to assist my aging eyes, knees and back in getting low perspective shots of small critters. In theory, the larger screen will help me as I track small birds and mammals like the prairie dog shown here. I say in theory because I did not get the chance to use it while we were in the Black Hills. These guys are very skittish (with good reason as I will post in the near future) and will typically run and slide back into their burrows when I even think about pointing a lens at one. Rather than get everything set up with the monitor, I decided to get out of the car to see if their skittishness would continue. Sure enough they all scattered - except for one. As you can tell from the facial expression and body language, it was not happy with me at all. Sorry bud!
My sincere thanks to all who spend the time to view, like or comment on my photos. It is much appreciated!
© 2024 Craig Goettsch - All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use without permission is prohibited.