Mr. Mythical

Bird of the Day Series, Social Media Content

Photo: Andre Vieira

In 1719, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough had their first party at Blenheim Palace. For the late supper, the chef wrung the necks of two dozen Blackbirds. He didn’t clean them, or pluck them. He tossed them in a massive pastry shell with a mash of onions and grain, put more pastry over them and baked them. Whence “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing. Oh, wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?” (The king wasn’t there.)

The Eurasian Blackbird, or Common Blackbird, is part of every European culture. He was revered by the Classical Greeks; the Celts believed he brought messages from the gods. In early Christianity, he was associated with carnal pleasures, and Saint Benedict declared he was the Devil in disguise. To the Serbs, the Field of Blackbirds (Kosovo Polje) was sacred ground; Kosovo is so-named. Agatha Christie wove a mystery around it; it is the subject of a Beatles song. The ‘Koltrast’ is the national bird of Sweden.

In some places, a Blackbird on your property means good luck; in others, he is a harbinger of death. There are numerous tales of Blackbirds physically leading people to discoveries, or leading them away from danger. When there’s trouble, these birds don’t flee—they like to watch, and listen. And they’re busier at night, which is when trouble often occurs. So, for centuries, people in dire straits have looked up and seen these birds watching them.

Sometimes, a Blackbird that seems to be watching you is half asleep. The Common Blackbird is one of the few species which has uni-hemispheric slow-wave sleep, where half the brain is asleep, and the other retains a degree of alertness. You’d think that this would help them live long lives, but they only live for about three years; their main predator is the cat.

Blackbirds are not related to crows, ravens or rooks; they are thrushes. They are elegant, intelligent birds, about a foot long, which spend most of their time hopping along the ground, eating anything from worms to apples to lizards. They are very territorial and fight off intruders via head-butting.

In the spring, the male Blackbird sings a melody from the treetops. In the cold of winter, he comforts himself by crooning; for fun, apparently, he often mimics the tweeting of other birds. Blackbirds also deliberately exercise via yoga, performing long stretches of their legs, wings, backs and tail feathers.

The male attracts the female with a courtship display of runs, head-bowing and singing. The female remains bowed and motionless; when she raises her head, it’s time to copulate. But Blackbirds tend to build their nests in exposed places and lose a lot of chicks this way. They mate for life. If reproduction is successful, they will re-use their nests; if their mating does not produce results, they will divorce each other. They even have a divorce rate: 20%.

There are an estimated 160 million Common Blackbirds throughout Europe. They are not threatened.