Wordsmith.Org

Wordsmith Talk

 About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

You are not logged in. [Log In] Wordsmith Talk » Forums » (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) » Animal Safari » Blackbird fly !
Register User       Forum List       Calendar       Active Topics       Search       FAQ
Page 1 of 4 1234>
Topic Options
#177691 - 06/23/08 02:01 PM Blackbird fly !
BranShea Offline
Pooh-Bah


Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 2066
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Last word about birds.

Summer now and ever since springfling the blackbird couple has chartered me for a ' feed the family ' program. They beg loudly for bread and peanut butter, a shovel of worm containing rubbish, an apple or strawberry.
Mostly 4 times a day they come and urge me on for scraps.They enter the kitchen and have quickly learned not to leave in flight, but walk out safe and quietly. Only once I had to pluck the both of them from the upper window-glass.
The young ones are now well able to fly and eat by themselves but they still chirp for service like babies. High time to give them a little backpack and send them on a cheap interterritorial flight. ( I'll miss them but....)

I took countless pictures. The parents have lost all shyness. The young have been told to hide. So there's just one to show, half hidden on the fence.

The family:

The dad

The dude

The dame

The Blackbird, Common Blackbird or Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North Africa,

The young are fed by the parents for up to three weeks after leaving the nest, and will follow the adults begging for food. If the female starts another nest, the male alone will feed the fledged young. Second broods are common, with the female reusing the same nest if the brood was successful, and three broods may be raised in the south of the Blackbird's range.

Edited by BranShea (06/23/08 02:09 PM)
_________________________
above all shadows rides the sun (JRRT)

Top
#177694 - 06/23/08 02:31 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: BranShea]
zmjezhd Offline
Pooh-Bah


Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 1676
Loc: R'lyeh
Nice photos. What we call blackbirds on the Left Coast are really starlings and red-winged blackbirds. I was surprised at the blackbirds (Amsel) when I lived in Germany. They're bigger and rougher looking. Latin turdus is cognate with English thrush and German Drossel. There's also the Jackdaw which in Czech is kavka whence the author's name Kafka.

[Edited to clear up my muddled meaning.]

Edited by zmjezhd (06/24/08 08:37 AM)
Top
#177707 - 06/23/08 07:46 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: BranShea]
The Pook Online happy
addict


Registered: 02/20/08
Posts: 697
Loc: Tasmania
 Originally Posted By: BranShea
Last word about birds.

...somehow I doubt it...

 Originally Posted By: Branshea
The Blackbird, Common Blackbird or Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North Africa,

It's also in Tasmania, where it is an exotic pest. It was introduced to Australia in 1863. They are especially annoying to vintners, who have developed measures such as timer activated cannons to scare them away from the grapes. We have them in our garden. They eat our raspberries.
Top
#177716 - 06/23/08 11:00 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: zmjezhd]
twosleepy Offline
enthusiast


Registered: 02/28/08
Posts: 322
Loc: western NY
In these parts, the Red-winged Blackbird is well-loved, for its beautiful plumage and cheerful calls. It is not considered a Starling (family sturnidae) which is considered a pest and will flock in the hundreds. The Red-winged (family icteridae) is not nearly as common. In fact, I've never taken a photo of one because they tend to frequent wide-open fields and do not usually eat at feeders. But now I have a project for this summer. I will get a pic! :0)
Top
#177717 - 06/23/08 11:15 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: twosleepy]
tsuwm Offline
Carpal Tunnel


Registered: 04/03/00
Posts: 8726
Loc: this too shall pass
I once (and only once) espied a migrating flock of yellow-headed blackbirds, whilst walking along a marsh in a suburban nature center -- quite amazing!

Edited by tsuwm (06/24/08 07:53 AM)
Edit Reason: hiking, not awakening
Top
#177724 - 06/24/08 07:02 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: twosleepy]
Faldage Offline
Carpal Tunnel


Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 11584
 Originally Posted By: twosleepy
In these parts, the Red-winged Blackbird is well-loved, for its beautiful plumage and cheerful calls.


And as a harbinger of Spring.
Top
#177728 - 06/24/08 08:39 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: twosleepy]
zmjezhd Offline
Pooh-Bah


Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 1676
Loc: R'lyeh
Sorry about that, I completely muddled up my meaning and posted with editing what I had written. I've corrected it. What I meant to write was that true blackbirds like the red-winged blackbird and starlings are lumped together in the folk category blackbird. (Even though starlings aren't really black, more brown mixed in.)
Top
#177732 - 06/24/08 10:50 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: twosleepy]
The Pook Online happy
addict


Registered: 02/20/08
Posts: 697
Loc: Tasmania
Here we call Starlings rats on wings. They are vermin. Western Australia is trying desperately to keep them out. The desert between the West and the Eastern States is a natural barrier to them, but they move along the seaboard and have to be trapped and shot to keep them out. Here in the East they are endemic and cause untold damage to native birds by outcompeting them.
Top
#177734 - 06/24/08 11:36 AM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: The Pook]
etaoin Offline
Carpal Tunnel


Registered: 06/24/02
Posts: 6097
Loc: Vermont
 Originally Posted By: The Pook
Here we call Starlings rats on wings.


grackles be like that. take over a feeder they do.
Top
#177735 - 06/24/08 12:29 PM Re: Blackbird fly ! [Re: The Pook]
BranShea Offline
Pooh-Bah


Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 2066
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
This is de doofpot.

Edited by BranShea (06/24/08 01:36 PM)
_________________________
above all shadows rides the sun (JRRT)

Top
Page 1 of 4 1234>


Hop to:
Forum Stats
6619 Members
16 Forums
12162 Topics
178615 Posts

Max Online: 853 @ 10/23/07 11:39 AM
Who's Online
1 registered (The Pook) and 22 anonymous users online.
details
Newest Members
Teddy, Nouveau Scribe, g123, *Your Addiction*, Ireeesh
6618 Registered Users
Top Posters
13858
wwh
11584
Faldage
9643
Jackie
8726
tsuwm
6416
AnnaStrophic
6296
Wordwind
6097
etaoin
5391
of troy
4683
maverick
4186
WhitmanO'Neill
August
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
My Cookies · Mark all read Powered by UBB.threads™ Contact Us · Wordsmith Talk · Top

Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 2008 Wordsmith.org