Bird Guide

Common Blackbird vs Song Thrush

Common Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Common Blackbird

Turdus merula

Medium103 gForest

In Europe, the common blackbird can be confused with the paler-winged first-winter ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus) or the superficially similar common starling (Sturnus vulgaris). A number of similar Turdus thrushes exist far outside the range of the common blackbird, for example the South American Chiguanco thrush (Turdus chiguanco). The Indian blackbird (Turdus simillimus), the Tibetan blackbird (Turdus maximus), and the Chinese blackbird (Turdus mandarinus) were formerly treated as subspecies of the common blackbird. The common blackbird of the nominate subspecies T. m. merula is 23. Voice: In its native range in the Northern Hemisphere, the first-year male common blackbird of the nominate race may start singing as early as late January in fine weather in order to establish a territory. This is followed in late March by the adult male.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Sonothèque ADVL · CC0
Photo: (c) Luiz Lapa, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Song Thrush

Turdus philomelos

Medium68 gForest

The song thrush (as represented by the nominate subspecies T. p. philomelos) is 20 to 23.5 centimetres (7+3⁄4 to 9+1⁄4 inches) in length and weighs 50 to 107 grams (1+3⁄4 to 3+3⁄4 ounces). The sexes are similar, with plain brown backs and neatly black-spotted cream or yellow-buff underparts, becoming paler on the belly. The underwing is warm yellow, the bill is yellowish and the legs and feet are pink. The upperparts of this species become colder in tone from west to east across the breeding range from Sweden to Siberia.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Philippe_Grange · CC0
Photo: Aleksey Shumkov · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Common Blackbird and Song Thrush.