Five facts about blackbirds

RSPB Scotland’s Allie McGregor shares five facts about blackbirds.

Five facts about blackbirds

1. Male blackbirds live up to their name as they are entirely black except for their yellow bill and a yellow ring around their eyes. However, female and juvenile blackbirds are brown. Females are brown with streaks or speckles on their chest and a less bold coloured bill. Juveniles are a speckled brown with some copper colouring and dark bills.

From left to right: Male blackbird, female blackbird, juvenile blackbird

2. In winter many migrant blackbirds join our resident population from places such as Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Some blackbirds also stop by on their way to other places like Spain and France.

3. The Scots word for blackbirds is ‘blackie’ or ‘merle’. You can find out some more Scots names for birds in our previous blog.

4. Blackbirds breeding seasons depends on the weather, with warm or cold spells bringing forward or delaying breeding. Usually blackbird breeding season lasts from March to late July. In a good year as many as four broods may be attempted. Grass, straw, twigs, mud and other plant material are amongst the materials used to make their nest.

5. Blackbirds are one of our most common garden birds. They took the number 5 spot in Scotland in 2019’s Big Garden Birdwatch and there are around 5 million breeding pairs in the UK. Where do you think it will place in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch? Sign up here.