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The Blackbird , Turdus merula is a member of the thrush family and can be found throughout Britain and mainland Europe. Easily recognisably , the male with it’s glossy black plumage , bright yellow eye and yellow-orange bill is a firm garden favourite and can also be found in it’s natural habitat , woodlands. The bird can be resident all year round or migratory , depending on food supply. The female and young have a dark brown plumage and builds their nests in woodlands and suburban gardens.

The Blackbird has a wingspan of around 38cm , with a body length of between 20-25cm and average weight of around 100g. The young male resembles the adult male, but has a dark bill and weaker eye ring, and its folded wing is brown, rather than black like the body plumage . Life expectancy of the Blackbird is about 2.5 years , however individual ringed birds have been recorded surviving more than 20 years.

Tags:   Blackbird female bird wildlife nature

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The wood pigeon is both he largest and most common pigeon , mostly grey in colour with a white , green and purple neck and distinctive whit stripes on its wings. Although shy in the countryside it can be tame and approachable in towns and cities. Its cooing call is a familiar sound in woodlands as is the loud clatter of its wings when it flies away. In Britain populations are largely sedentary, seldom moving more than 10 miles from where they hatched, but northern European birds are strongly migratory, moving south towards the Mediterranean every autumn.

Tags:   Wood pigeon bird wildlife nature

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