Thrushes (Turdidae)
Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) - HBW 10, p. 645
French: Merle noir
German: Amsel
Spanish: Mirlo Común
Other common names: Blackbird, Eurasian Blackbird, Black Thrush; Chinese/Eastern Blackbird (intermedius, sowerbyi and mandarinus)
Taxonomy: Turdus Merula Linnaeus, 1758, Europe = Sweden.
Formerly considered conspecific with T. maximus and T. simillimus. E races intermedius, sowerbyi and mandarinus possibly warrant separation as a distinct species on basis of size, structure and voice. Proposed race insularum from S Greek islands (Lesvos, Andros, Ikaria, Samos, Crete, Rhodes) considered indistinguishable from syriacus. Nine subspecies recognized. Introduced Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, subsequently present also Lord Howe I, Norfolk Is, Macquarie I and Kermadec Is.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- merula Linnaeus, 1758 - Europe (except N & SE).
- azorensis Hartert, 1905 - Azores.
- cabrerae Hartert, 1901 - Madeira and W Canary Is.
- merula Linnaeus, 1758 - Europe (except N & SE).
- azorensis Hartert, 1905 - Azores.
- cabrerae Hartert, 1901 - Madeira and W Canary Is.
- mauritanicus Hartert, 1902 - NW Africa.
- aterrimus (Madarász, 1903) - SE Europe, W & N Turkey, Caucasus area and N Iran; non-breeding also Middle East.
- syriacus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833 - islands of S Greece (N Cyclades and Crete), SW & S Turkey and Levant.
- intermedius (Richmond, 1896) - Tien Shan S to NW and NE Afghanistan; non-breeding Iraq E to S Afghanistan.
- sowerbyi Deignan, 1951 - C China (Gansu S to W Sichuan); non-breeding S China and N Indochina.
- mandarinus Bonaparte, 1850 - E China (E from E Sichuan and Guizhou); non-breeding S China, Hainan and N Indochina.
- Least Concern
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Two chicks being fed by their parents South Yorkshire, Yorkshire, England, UK (ssp merula)
Peter Nash 22 May 2006 3 years ago 42 sec 4.8 -
A bird sings on a morning . Filmed on the island Spiekeroog , Ostfriesische Inseln , Niedersachsen Spiekeroog, East Frisian Islands, Lower Saxony, Germany
Christian Wiesmann 15 July 2010 1 week ago ADDED LAST MONTH 1 min 8 sec 4 -
leucistic turdus merula male dancing London, England, UK
norr moran 1 May 2009 19 weeks ago 36 sec 4 -
A female eating ivy fruits Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain (ssp merula)
Juan Sanabria 28 February 2007 2 years ago 28 sec 4 -
The Blackbird sings on a cold morning . Dülmen-Merfeld North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Christian Wiesmann 7 October 2008 28 weeks ago 25 sec 3.8 -
A female on an ivy, regurgitating indigestible material Lynx Garden, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (ssp merula)
Josep del Hoyo 14 February 2006 3 years ago 46 sec 3.8
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An adult female in the hand. Valldoreix, Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain (ssp merula)
Alberto Soria 35 weeks ago 3.9 -
Fledgling Porto, Norte Region, Portugal (ssp merula)
auf 31 May 2009 12 weeks ago 3.9 -
A first-year male in the hand. Valldoreix, Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain (ssp merula)
Alberto Soria 33 weeks ago 3.8 -
An adult male in the hand. Tiana, Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain (ssp merula)
Alberto Soria 33 weeks ago 3.8 -
adult male to be ringed/banded Nissan-lez-Ensérune, Hérault, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Georges Olioso 22 June 2009 37 weeks ago 3.8 -
Adult male foraging on a lawn. Early morning. Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
Graham Little 27 December 2009 27 weeks ago 3.7
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A male blackbird singing at dusk Lampertheim, Hesse, Germany
Claus Fischer 28 May 2010 8 weeks ago 4 -
Song of a village blackbird, at dusk. Lampertheim, Hesse, Germany
Claus Fischer 15 March 2010 19 weeks ago 4 -
The bird singing at early morning, almost 6 o'clock. Amman, Jordan
Shoosh 30 January 2010 25 weeks ago 4 -
Alarm calls of a bird flying past Woking, Surrey, England, UK
(ssp merula)
Stuart Fisher 15 October 2002 28 weeks ago 4 -
Calls of two migrants perched Galata, Istanbul, Turkey
(ssp merula?)
Stuart Fisher 20 October 2006 32 weeks ago 4 -
Trilled contact call Woking, Surrey, England, UK
(ssp merula)
Stuart Fisher 17 November 2005 33 weeks ago 4
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