The blackbird is one of our most familiar garden birds and the principal songster of the dawn chorus. The male is jet black with a yellow bill and eye The female and juveniles are brown. The blackbird is the only species of our three commonly breeding thrushes in which the plumage of the male is different. Pied or partial albino blackbirds are not uncommon. The blackbird is one of our most familiar garden birds and the principal songster of the dawn chorus. The male is jet black with a yellow bill and eye The female and juveniles are brown. The blackbird is the only species of our three commonly breeding thrushes in which the plumage of the male is different. Pied or partial albino blackbirds are not uncommon. Their song is a loud and warbling and non repetitive. Blackbirds have increased in numbers and there are now estimated to be over 1.9 million breeding pairs in Ireland. Blackbirds are joined during October and November by a large migration of birds from Scotland, northern England and Scandinavia . Blackbirds eat a wide range of insects, earthworms, seeds and berries. It is mainly a ground feeder and it pulls earthworms from the soil. These it located with sight or hearing. It also forages in leaf litter for other invertebrates. Small vertebrates such as frogs, tadpoles and lizards are occasionally hunted. It will also take berries and collect caterpillars and flying insects. Animal prey is particularly important during the breeding season. Berries and fruit are more important in autumn and winter. The main predator of the Blackbird is the domestic cat, with newly-fledged young especially vulnerable. Foxes and predatory birds, such as the Sparrow hawk also take blackbirds. Cuckoos sometimes attempt to lay eggs in blackbird nests but this rarely succeeds as blackbirds recognize the foreign egg and destroy it. The Blackbird is one of a number of species which can have One half of the brain effectively asleep, while the other half is in a state of wakefulness. The benefit of this is that the bird can rest in areas of high predation or during long migratory flights, but always remain alert alertness. Blackbirds have an average life expectancy of 2.4 years. The oldest recorded ringed Blackbird was 21 years and 10 months.
