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Sunday 2 April 2023

Wildlife picture of the month


Every month will be a picture of a British and European wild animal looking nice for the season. This month we'll be looking at common blackbirds ready for Spring. In the photo there is a blackbird sat inside a tree full of cherry blossoms. 

Facts about blackbirds include:

Male blackbirds are with black feathers, and they have yellow beaks and yellow rings around their eyes. Female blackbirds are brown with a few speckles and brown coloured beaks. They have nice songs and they're the most regular birds, that seem to be more active when Spring arrives. These small birds are omnivores, and they can eat bugs, worms and fruit. They belong to the family Tardus merula. Other members of this family includes thrushes and chats. There are different types of blackbirds in the world and not all of them are black feathered.  

Most are familiar with the whimsical English rhyme that includes blackbirds:

"Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye, Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was open the birds began to sing. Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before a king."

In folklore blackbirds are associated with water and good luck. Seeing two of them together usually means even better good luck. And it would be special and a magical gift if they nested somewhere near your home. Ancient druids associated blackbirds with magic and goddess Rhiannon. 

Source: Info page on the common blackbird at Woodland Trust.  

She Wolf Night

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