Eurasian Blackbird Life History

Habitat

Eurasian Blackbirds evolved as forest birds but are now equally at home in cities and other residential areas. They breed and winter in deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests, as well as city parks, suburban gardens, orchards, and farmlands. In cities and suburbs, they require well-developed shrubbery for nesting and cover and open spaces for foraging.

Food

Eurasian Blackbirds eat mainly earthworms, insects, and fruit, but major food items vary throughout the year and can also include snails and seeds. This thrush often feeds conspicuously on the ground, running or hopping in short bursts on the grass before pausing to look for—and strike at—earthworms and insects. Blackbirds also use their bill to flip over leaf litter in search of food, and commonly forage in trees and bushes.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Nest placed in trees, bushes, or the walls of buildings. Nest height ranges from 0.5–15 meters (1–50 feet), but is usually less than 4 meters (13 feet) off the ground.

Nest Description

A large cup nest made of dry grass and twigs. Mud is added to the inside of the nest and the interior cup is then lined with fine grasses and stems.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Eurasian Blackbirds can be alternately tame and skittish—feeding on the ground in the open, but then suddenly scampering to shrubby cover and giving agitated calls. Foraging birds typically take a few steps or hops at a time and then, after a pause, either go after prey or take a few more steps forward before their next stop. This thrush has a long tail, which it frequently cocks upward and then slowly lowers.

Eurasian Blackbirds form monogamous pairs when nesting but pairs split up frequently between breeding seasons. Pairs often raise up to three broods per year, usually with 3–4 chicks per brood. Females build the nest and do all the incubation. Both sexes feed the nestlings, which typically fledge after two weeks, and continue feeding the fledglings for a few weeks after they leave the nest.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Eurasian Blackbird’s conservation status as Least Concern, due to an extremely large range, an increasing population trend, and extremely large population size (estimated at 10–500 million individuals).

Credits

Collar, N. and D. A. Christie (2020). Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.eurbla.01

Cramp, S., Editor (1988). The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 5: Tyrant Flycatchers to Thrushes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (2022). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.

Jonsson, L. (1992). Birds of Europe: with North Africa and the Middle East. Christopher Helm, London, United Kingdom.

Svensson, L., K. Mullarney, and D. Zetterström (2009). Collins Bird Guide. Second edition. HarperCollins, London, UK.

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