Common Blackbird

The Common Blackbird is the largest turdid in the Western Palearctic domain. Its typical silhouette (long tail and short wings), its large size and its very dark plumage make it a remarkable bird, especially since it doesn't fear Humans. There is a rather pronounced sexual dimorphism. The adult male in nuptial plumage is entirely dark and uniform. Its bill is yellow-orange and its eye is surrounded by a pale orange ring of the same colour. The iris is grey or brown. The legs are reddish or brownish. The female is brown with her upper parts rather dark and her lower parts quite pale with some dark speckles. There is a great inter-individual variability as to the tonality of its plumage, oftentimes shaded by chamois on its lower parts and sometimes still with juvenile traits like a russet breast with spots. The beak is brown but can gain a yellowish tint with age. The eye ring is less visible but can be as accentuated as the male's. The juvenile is dramatically different to the point one might think they were looking at a different species, a thrush for example. Its plumage is of a quite light brown, clearly tinted with russet on the face, on the throat and on the chest and fully speckled or striped with chamois above and below. The bill is lighter than the female's and the legs are rosy. Cases of leucism are frequent among this species, probably due to consanguinity in some populations, urban ones for instance. Leucism is characterised by white feathers in the midst of the black plumage and varies in its intensity. The disposition of the white speckles appears random and in extreme cases the Common Blackbird may be mostly white. It is a genetic anomaly that prevents the synthesis of black pigment, melanin.