Common Blackbird

Turdus merula

The common blackbird is a species of true thrush. It is also known as the Eurasian blackbird, or simply the blackbird. It breeds in Europe, western Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few former Asian subspecies are now widely treated as separate species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 6,378,756 times across 78 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 19°C (typically 15 to 23°C, from 36 areas).

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 45°N in December to 56°N in July, about 1,300 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.