THE BLACKBIRD.sprig of flowersWhodoes not know and love the Blackbird with his sable coat, orange bill, and peculiar habit of erecting his tail when he alights? In the North of England the bird still enjoys its old name of Ouzel, and in Scotland it is called a Merle.The hen differs somewhat in her appearance from the cock in being of a dark, rusty-brown colour instead of “so black of hue,” as Shakespeare has it of her mate.This species is common in gardens, orchards, shrubberies, hedgerows, and woods all over the British Islands. I have even met with it breeding in a little garden close to the Atlantic in theoutermost island of the Hebridean group and within sight of lone St. Kilda.BLACKBIRD’S NESTBLACKBIRD’S NEST.Its nest is placed in isolated thorn bushes, evergreens of all kinds, hedges, in trees sometimes at a considerable elevation, in holes in dry stone walls, in sheds, and even amongst grass upon the level ground. Last spring I saw two in the grass, one inside a thrashing machine,and another joined to the nest of a Song Thrush on a wooden bar inside a cattle shed, and all of them were within a few yards of suitable hedgerows. The structure is composed of small dead twigs, roots, dry grass, and moss intermixed with clay or mud, and lined with fine, dry grass.The eggs, numbering from four to six, are of a dull bluish-green, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown and grey. Occasionally specimens may be met with having a few hair-like lines on the larger end. The eggs vary considerably in regard to size, shape, and coloration.Blackbirds breed from March until June, July, and even August, and have been known to rear as many as four broods in a single season. Young birds of the first brood sometimes help their parents to feed the chicks of a second family.The glory of an Ouzel’s song consists not so much in its variety and compass as in the rich, flute-like melodiousness of its tones and the easy, leisurely manner of their delivery. They are readily distinguished from the hurried, vehement, hope-inspiring notes of the Song Thrush by their mellowness, stately delivery, and touch of melancholy.FEMALE BLACKBIRDFEMALE BLACKBIRD ADMIRINGHER SINGLE GIANT CHICKBlackbirds sing principally during the morning and evening, but as a rule do not commence quite as early or go on so late as Throstles. A warm spring shower will, however, always draw the best and sweetest music from the Merle at whatever hour of the day it may fall. This species loves to sing from a dead, bare bough, standing well above the surrounding foliage, but occasionally holds forth on the wing, and I have heard one sing habitually from a housetop in the Outer Hebrides.Although the male Blackbird helps the female to feed their nestlings, this does not put a stop to his vocal efforts. He frequently carols a few notes near the nest directly after he has delivered his catch of worms and grubs, and this fact may, to some extent, account for the chicks commencing to sing three months after they have been hatched.Some members of this species will sing off and on as late as the end of July, and commence again as early even as September.The Blackbird, when heard at very close quarters, may be discerned to imitate the notes of other species, as I have discovered when lying in hidingtrying to obtain phonographic records of its song. It is said to be able to reproduce the crowing of a cock or the cackle of a laying hen, and even snatches of popular songs.The bird’s call note is atisserr, tack, tack, and its well-known ringing alarm cry,spink, spink, spink.flowering tree
sprig of flowers
Whodoes not know and love the Blackbird with his sable coat, orange bill, and peculiar habit of erecting his tail when he alights? In the North of England the bird still enjoys its old name of Ouzel, and in Scotland it is called a Merle.
The hen differs somewhat in her appearance from the cock in being of a dark, rusty-brown colour instead of “so black of hue,” as Shakespeare has it of her mate.
This species is common in gardens, orchards, shrubberies, hedgerows, and woods all over the British Islands. I have even met with it breeding in a little garden close to the Atlantic in theoutermost island of the Hebridean group and within sight of lone St. Kilda.
BLACKBIRD’S NESTBLACKBIRD’S NEST.
BLACKBIRD’S NEST.
Its nest is placed in isolated thorn bushes, evergreens of all kinds, hedges, in trees sometimes at a considerable elevation, in holes in dry stone walls, in sheds, and even amongst grass upon the level ground. Last spring I saw two in the grass, one inside a thrashing machine,and another joined to the nest of a Song Thrush on a wooden bar inside a cattle shed, and all of them were within a few yards of suitable hedgerows. The structure is composed of small dead twigs, roots, dry grass, and moss intermixed with clay or mud, and lined with fine, dry grass.
The eggs, numbering from four to six, are of a dull bluish-green, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown and grey. Occasionally specimens may be met with having a few hair-like lines on the larger end. The eggs vary considerably in regard to size, shape, and coloration.
Blackbirds breed from March until June, July, and even August, and have been known to rear as many as four broods in a single season. Young birds of the first brood sometimes help their parents to feed the chicks of a second family.
The glory of an Ouzel’s song consists not so much in its variety and compass as in the rich, flute-like melodiousness of its tones and the easy, leisurely manner of their delivery. They are readily distinguished from the hurried, vehement, hope-inspiring notes of the Song Thrush by their mellowness, stately delivery, and touch of melancholy.
FEMALE BLACKBIRDFEMALE BLACKBIRD ADMIRINGHER SINGLE GIANT CHICK
FEMALE BLACKBIRD ADMIRINGHER SINGLE GIANT CHICK
Blackbirds sing principally during the morning and evening, but as a rule do not commence quite as early or go on so late as Throstles. A warm spring shower will, however, always draw the best and sweetest music from the Merle at whatever hour of the day it may fall. This species loves to sing from a dead, bare bough, standing well above the surrounding foliage, but occasionally holds forth on the wing, and I have heard one sing habitually from a housetop in the Outer Hebrides.
Although the male Blackbird helps the female to feed their nestlings, this does not put a stop to his vocal efforts. He frequently carols a few notes near the nest directly after he has delivered his catch of worms and grubs, and this fact may, to some extent, account for the chicks commencing to sing three months after they have been hatched.
Some members of this species will sing off and on as late as the end of July, and commence again as early even as September.
The Blackbird, when heard at very close quarters, may be discerned to imitate the notes of other species, as I have discovered when lying in hidingtrying to obtain phonographic records of its song. It is said to be able to reproduce the crowing of a cock or the cackle of a laying hen, and even snatches of popular songs.
The bird’s call note is atisserr, tack, tack, and its well-known ringing alarm cry,spink, spink, spink.
flowering tree