Eurasian blackbird
Chapter 10: More birds! More Sounds!
Subchapter: More birds! More Sounds!—Americas
From page 169 in the book.
Our all-American robin has about 80 close relatives in the same genus Turdus throughout the world. You can find them in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia—everywhere but Antarctica!
One of these close relatives is the "blackbird" mentioned in the English nursery rhyme "Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie." That's the same blackbird Cat Stevens sang about: "Morning has broken . . . Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird . . ." That would be the Eurasian blackbird, Turdus merula, who behaves and sings much like our North American robin, Turdus migratorius. Both are, for example, among the first birds to sing in the morning. (Note: The Eurasian blackbird is not in the American blackbird family Icteridae, nor is the "European robin" in the genus Turdus—common names can certainly be confusing.)
Listen (♫687).What similarities do you hear in the singing of the American robin and the Eurasian blackbird? What differences? This blackbird was recorded first thing in the morning, when the roosters were still crowing, so it's best to compare it to a dawn singing American robin with both carols and hisselly notes, such as ♫14, ♫15, or ♫16. Listen to other robins (genus Turdus) as you travel, considering how these robins have moved through evolutionary time and space throughout this Turdus lineage. April 1, 2014. Majorca, Spain. (9:27)