They come very close to the house to nibble at the goodies I leave out; I get a great view of them. My neighbour has a row of conifers at the back of his properties and asked where blackbirds nest as he has seen a lot of activity. He spotted males and females travelling to and fro from a midway point in one of the trees. He was right; blackbirds build their nests low down in bushes and trees, close to the ground where there is adequate cover from a threat.
Some birds are known to make their nests in outbuildings and sheds. While it might not seem the most sensible idea, blackbirds build their nests close to the ground for the sake of their young. Once on the ground, they try to stay alive, hiding amongst undergrowth until their feathers grow in. During this time, both parents continue to feed them. It is the hen that does all of the work when it comes to nest building.
She begins work around the beginning of March , but the breeding season dates alter a little if spring starts off warm or cold. The female finds the ideal site in heavy vegetation, bushes, trees, or climbers; and gathers plant matter. The rich, fruity warble of the blackbird will be familiar to readers up and down the country as this is one of our commonest feathered songsters. The male is jet black with a bright orange beak and ring around the eye, and the female is a chocolate brown colour.
Blackbirds are members of the thrush family, and like their cousins the song and mistle thrushes, fieldfares and redwings they have a varied diet, eating insects and worms in the summer and fruit in the winter.
These birds are often awake and alert before the robins, tits and finches as they have larger eyes, allowing them to see better at first light. They can also be fooled into thinking dawn has arrived by the presence of streetlights. This month blackbirds will begin nesting and laying eggs. Amazingly they can raise two, three or even four broods of chicks a year. The blackbird is one of few monogamous species in the bird kingdom, picking partners that last until death.
The breeding pair will often locate suitable nests for the female together, to help her feel the most comfortable. The blackbirds congregate for food and protection. While some birds migrate alone, blackbirds find strength in numbers. They cooperate to find food — whether in a field, backyard or parking lot — and keep an eye out for predators. However, while the juvenile male moults his wing feathers will remain brown known as a 1st-winter male , also the eye ring and bill will be a "dirty" yellow, and it will be another year before his plumage is entirely black, and his eye ring and bill are pure orange-yellow.
Albinism and leucism is common in Blackbirds, but there are even more that are "partially albino" e. Albinism is a complete lack of pigment whereas leucistic birds have weak pigmentation and appear "wishy-washy". See feathers for more explanation.
In bygone times Blackbirds and other song birds were a delicacy, a fact we are reminded of in the rhyme:. The Blackbird sings from a perch and its song is rich, varied and flute-like, but usually finishes in a squeaky phrase. Their calls are loud and varied.
The warning call is given with flicking wings and tail and sounds a little like "chook", and the alarm call is a loud rattle. During the winter, Blackbirds can often be heard quietly "singing to themselves" within undergrowth, this is called sub-song.
Later, in the spring and summer, the male Blackbird sings from a prominent song post see bird song article. After July, when the breeding season is over, the male Blackbird will stop singing and will not be heard properly again until February.
0コメント