The common blackbird Turdus merula is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird . It breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. The adult male is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill and has a rich, melodious song; the adult female and juvenile have mainly dark brown plumage. Breeds in woods and gardens, building a neat, cup-shaped nest, bound together with mud.
Both sexes are territorial on the breeding grounds, with distinctive threat displays, but are more gregarious during migration and in wintering areas. The male`s song is a varied and melodious low-pitched fluted warble, given from trees, rooftops or other elevated perches.
It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms, seeds and berries. It feeds mainly on the ground, running and hopping with a start-stop-start progress. It pulls earthworms from the soil, finding them by sight or hearing, and roots through leaf litter for other invertebrates. Small amphibians, lizards and on rare occasions small mammals are occasionally hunded. Turdus merula blackbird on a Acacia tree branch with natural background.
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