Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula)
Identification
Thurshlike
Habitat
open Woodland
Food
open Woodland
Nesting
open Woodland
Distribution
open Woodland
Conservation
open Woodland
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Identification
Length: 25-26cm Weight: 70–130 grams Wingspan: 34-39cm
Adult Male
Glossy black plumage, blackish-brown legs and dark brown feet, a yellow eye-ring and an orange-yellow bill. The bill darkens somewhat in winter.
Adult Female
Sooty-brown with yellow eye-ring and dull yellowish-brownish bill. A brownish-white throat and some weak mottling on the breast, legs are grey-brown.
Juvenile
Similar to the female, but has pale spots on the upperparts, and the very young juvenile also has a speckled breast. The first year male resembles the adult male, but has a dark bill and weaker eye ring, and its folded wing is brown, rather than black like the body plumage.
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Habitat
Common throughout New Zealand, and many offshore island. They are found in parks, orchards, farmland and even in the depths of native forest. However, gardens provide the best breeding habitat.
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Food
The blackbird 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, usually finding them by sight, but sometimes by hearing, and roots through leaf litter for other invertebrates. This species will also perch in trees and eat berries and fruit from native podocarps, nikau palms and orchard trees.
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