--- title: "Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A lawn-hopping songster whose night-time hormones shift under city light." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/common-blackbird-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-11" --- # Common Blackbird (*Turdus merula*) > **Status**: Checked against 7 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A lawn-hopping songster whose night-time hormones shift under city light. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: 90s Riot Grrrl & Grunge // Sleater-Kinney, "One More Hour" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/1WtpkJyC5UNqE4dC3iHplB) > **Vibe Match**: Modelled against city traffic, a blackbird's song carried much further when sung louder than when pitched higher. One More Hour wins the same way: Corin Tucker's voice gets over two guitars and the drums on sheer force. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Turdus merula* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-2.rlts.t103888106a264548442.en)) - **Superpower**: A leading voice in the UK's dawn chorus - **Habitat**: Gardens, parks, hedgerows, woodland and farmland across Britain and Ireland, almost everywhere except the highest ground - **Diet**: Worms, insects, berries and fruit - **Tags**: bird, omnivore, vocalist, woodland, urban ## Natural History & Behavior ## Lights on, melatonin down Blackbirds are widespread in Europe and breed successfully in cities. Researchers caught adult males in Munich and in a forest 40 km away, moved them indoors, and kept one group under a dim 0.3 lux glow at night, the level recorded on free-living city blackbirds, and the other in near darkness (0.0001 lux). The glowing group released less melatonin, a hormone that is normally released at night. They were also more active, with activity rising sharply before dawn. A second study tested the calendar. Under the same faint night light, captive blackbirds had their reproductive system developed up to a month ahead of birds given dark nights, and their moult came earlier too. ## Listening for worms on the lawn A blackbird is about 24 cm long with a 36 cm wingspan. BTO measurements of live birds put the adult average at 101.8 g, and 90 percent of adults weigh between 87 and 122 g. Males are entirely black, set off by a yellow bill and a yellow eye-ring. Females are dark brown with streaking on the chest and throat. Look for them on lawns, heads cocked to one side, listening for earthworms. They also eat insects, berries and fruit. A bird that survives to breeding age typically lives about 3 years. The oldest ringed blackbird in Britain was 15 years, 2 months and 5 days old, a record set in 2000. ## Almost everywhere in Britain In Britain and Ireland blackbirds turn up almost everywhere except the highest ground: gardens, parks, hedgerows, woodland and farmland. Most UK blackbirds stay all year, though some northern birds migrate south for winter, and large numbers from northern Europe join the residents each autumn. The UK held 5.1 million breeding pairs in 2016, and its breeding population was 21 percent lower in 2024 than in 1967. ## Loud beats high The song runs year-round, but peaks between March and June, and blackbirds are a leading voice in the UK's dawn chorus. Where traffic fills a city with low rumble, birds have been seen singing both louder and higher. Researchers picked blackbirds and great tits, two species that sing higher in urban areas, and modelled how far each species' song carries in city noise and in forest. > **Pitch versus volume** > In the models, a higher pitch only marginally increased how far a song carried, while singing louder had a strong and significantly larger effect. The authors say their results indicate that raising the pitch is not very effective at beating traffic masking. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How long do blackbirds live? British ringing data put the typical life expectancy of a bird that reaches breeding age, usually at 1 year old, at about 3 years. The oldest ringed bird in Britain, a record set in 2000, was 15 years, 2 months and 5 days old. *(Source: [British Trust for Ornithology]())* ### How much does a blackbird weigh? About 100 g. BTO weighings of live adults average 101.8 g, and nine in ten adults fall between 87 and 122 g. *(Source: [British Trust for Ornithology]())* ### Does city lighting change a blackbird's body at night? In a captive study, yes. Blackbirds lit at 0.3 lux overnight had lower melatonin than birds in near darkness, and were more active, with a sharp rise before dawn. The authors suggest the birds responded as if the day were longer. *(Source: [Dominoni et al. 2013]())* ## Sources 1. [Turdus merula. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T103888106A264548442.]() 2. [Dominoni et al. (2013). Urban-like night illumination reduces melatonin release in European blackbirds (Turdus merula): implications of city life for biological time-keeping of songbirds. Frontiers in Zoology.]() 3. [Dominoni, Quetting & Partecke (2013). Artificial light at night advances avian reproductive physiology. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.]() 4. [Nemeth & Brumm (2010). Birds and Anthropogenic Noise: Are Urban Songs Adaptive? The American Naturalist.]() 5. [BirdFacts: Blackbird. British Trust for Ornithology.]() 6. [Blackbird. Welsh Wildlife Trusts.]() 7. [Blackbird. RSPB.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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