(Common Birds in Wallaroo) · iNaturalist Australia

Turdus merula

Summary ⁷

The Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. It is also called Eurasian Blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply Blackbird, where this does not lead to confusion with a similar-looking local species. It breeds in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia (where it is considered a pest) and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its...

Range ⁸

The blackbird is very widespread throughout most of Britain, with the exception of the Scottish Highlands (4). During winter there is massive immigration of blackbirds from Scandinavia, Germany, the Baltic States, and parts of Russia and Finland (4). Certain populations of British blackbirds also have strong migratory tendencies, with many Scottish birds spending the winter in Ireland (4). The British population has been declining since the 1970s, but may now be recovering (7). The blackbird is distributed from Iberia throughout temperate Europe, to Russia, and through Turkey, northern Iran, and the Himalayas, reaching into China (3).

Habitat and ecology ⁹

Systems

Terrestrial

Lifespan, longevity, and ageing ¹⁰

Maximum longevity: 21.8 years (wild)

Iucn red list assessment ¹¹

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2014

Assessor/s

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s

Butchart, S.

Contributor/s

Justification

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History

2012

Least Concern

Threats ¹²

Agricultural intensification is thought to have played a part in the decline of the blackbird (7).

Sources and Credits

(c) John Rutter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/22827399@N08/3562375247
(c) Erik Jørgensen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3165/3628753797_79f347bc45.jpg
(c) Andreas Trepte, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Common_Blackbird.jpg
(c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/JCS-Turdus-merula-62470.JPG
(c) Julian Black, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/5747120694_97842a0d89.jpg
(c) Arthur Chapman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4858828911_7457674f09.jpg
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turdus_merula
(c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6684763
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31296173
(c) Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/3209127
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31296171
(c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6684766

More Info

Range Map

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Summary 7

Range 8

Habitat and ecology 9

Lifespan, longevity, and ageing 10

Iucn red list assessment 11

Threats 12