Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS

THE SONG BIRDS

THE THRUSHES

Thrushes and Solitaires

Passing over the second subfamily {Cochoanina), which comprises only a single genus and four Oriental species of purple and green Thrushes, we come to the typical Thrushes (Turdince), of which there are upward of two hundred and fifty forms.
Omitting a small number of West Indian forms known as Mockingbird-Thrushes {Mimocichla), we may commence our consideration of this group with the vast genus Planesticus (formerly Merula), the members of which are variously known as Blackbirds, Ouzels, etc. Although not very sharply differentiated from the genus Turdus, with which it is merged by many authorities, the plumage of the adult is never spotted above or below, the ordinary colors being nearly uniform black (in males of some species only), brown, slate-gray, etc. They are widely but somewhat peculiarly distributed, about fifty of the one hundred and fifteen forms occurring in the New World south of Mexico, some twenty-five in Africa, and the remainder widely spread over Europe, Asia, and the Pacific islands. They are mainly terrestrial birds, frequenting meadows and fields in search of grubs and various insects, but they also subsist to a considerable extent on fruits, berries, and seeds. Perhaps the best-known is the so-called Blackbird (P. merula) of Europe generally, south of the Arctic Circle, whence it ranges as far as Syria, Egypt, Persia, and the Azores. About ten inches long, the male has the entire plumage deep black, with the bill and the orbits of the eyes orange-yellow, while the female is sooty brown. In the western portions of its range it comes as a summer visitor only, but otherwise it is a resident species or merely shifts its quarters to less exposed situations in the winter. Frequenting woods and groves, but more especially lawns, gardens, and cultivated fields, it is one of the most familiar of European birds, its clear, loud, melodious song endearing it to most people. It feeds on snails (the shells of which it breaks against a stone), insects, grubs, and earthworms, but during the fruit season becomes more or less troublesome to the gardener, greedily devouring cherries, currants, gooseberries, strawberries, etc. The nesting season extends from March to June, according to latitude, and two or three and sometimes as many as four broods are reared in a season. The nest, a rather large structure of twigs, roots, and coarse grass cemented together with mud and lined with softer grasses, is placed in a hedge-bush, evergreen tree, wall, or sometimes on the ground; the four to six eggs are light greenish blue spotted with reddish brown. The Blackbird was successfully introduced into Australia in 1864, especially in the vicinity of Melbourne.

previous bird species next bird species