Bird guide · Turdus merula
Blackbird
What the blackbird eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from across the UK.
- Season
- Year-round resident
- Size
- 9.8 in (25 cm)
- Eats
- fruit, mealworms
- Feeds
- ground, tray/platform
- Most common
- Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Food
What do blackbirds eat?
At feeders, blackbirds take fruit, mealworms.
Forages on the ground, turning over leaf litter, and visits flat feeders such as bird tables.
Feeder that suits it
A low tray or platform feeder, or seed scattered on the ground below your feeder.
Range
Where do blackbirds live?
One of the most common birds, found almost everywhere in Britain and Ireland; extra birds arrive from northern Europe in winter. By share of all bird sightings, blackbirds are most common in Wales (3.3%).
Nations where blackbirds are most common
- Wales3.3%
- Scotland3.0%
- Northern Ireland2.8%
- England2.8%
Share of all bird sightings in each nation that are blackbirds, 2019–2024.
Season
Does the blackbird migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the UK it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in June.
Share of all bird sightings in the UK that are blackbirds, by month.
Identification
How to identify the blackbird
Male: Black with an orange-yellow bill and yellow eye-ring.
Female: Brown, often spotted and streaked on the breast.
Size: 9.8 in (25 cm)
On camera
Getting the blackbird on a feeder camera
Most visits happen on the ground or on low trays. A camera feeder with a wide tray, placed low near cover, catches far more than a hanging tube.
Questions
Blackbird: questions
What do blackbirds eat?
At feeders, fruit, mealworms.
Do blackbirds migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the UK it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in June.
Where do blackbirds live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, England.
What does a female blackbird look like?
Brown, often spotted and streaked on the breast.
More birds