The Blackbird Sings!

photo by ana traina

This past weekend my husband was cleaning up the front yard when he discovered a nest. He quickly called me over saying that he had a present for me. Grumpily, I left what I was working on and went around front thinking, he really just wanted some company. From a distance, I could see that it was a bird’s nest sitting on our fence, it was peeking out from under some forsythia branches. Suddenly, there was a quickness to my step and as I approached my eyes widened with gleeful surprise as I beheld the tiny be speckled blue egg inside. There are two things I have always wanted to see, one was an owl in the wild which I saw this summer as one flew across the road and then disappeared into the neighboring forest, and the other was to see a nest with an egg inside. You can just imagine my excitement, or maybe not... But now, I desperately needed to find out all about this little home and just who exactly might live there...after searching the internet for several hours, looking at many images of eggs and nests, I finally discovered that this nest belongs to a Blackbird (Turdus merula). 

Here is what else I was able to uncover, blackbirds are one of the most recognizable songsters, not to be mistaken for a crow, its song is clear, beautifully lyrical and distinctive. Their singing has been known to put the listener into a deep sleep or trance which enables him/her to travel to Otherworlds.  In Brescia in Italy it was believed that the blackbird changed color as a result of a cruel and cold winter. Forced to take shelter against the severe winter, the birds sought refuge in chimneys, where it became blackened with soot. In commemoration, the last two days of January and the 1st of February became know as i giorni della merla, ‘the blackbird days’.  

They are also known to do have weather-forecasting ability, there is a saying from County Meath in Ireland: ‘When the blackbird sings before Christmas, she will will cry before Candlemas’. This means that if the bird should start singing before its usual time in Febuary, a cold spell will occur before the rite of Candlemas which is held of February 2nd.

In medieval times the conceit of placing live birds under a pie crust just before serving may have been the origin of the familiar nursery rhyme:

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 Blackbird's melodious, distinctive song is the theme of the poem Adlestrop by Edward Thomas 

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Bits of odd and end: The Common Blackbird is the national bird of Sweden, which has a breeding population of 1–2 million pairs, and was featured on a 30 ore Christmas postage stamp in 1970.

How to Identify Bird Nests

By Patricia Hill, eHow Contributor 

One doesn't have to be a bird enthusiast to be intrigued by birds, their habitat and all of the characteristics that make them unique creatures. Few people can happen by a bird's nest without feeling compelled to take a closer look. How do these feathery wonders make their home with only their beak? Interestingly, birds can be identified by examining their nest-making handiwork.

Obtain a field guide to birds in the region in which you live. This will be helpful in determining what type of bird built the nest being examined, enabling you to eliminate birds that are not native to your area.

2 - Determine the height of the nest. This can be performed visually, no measurements are necessary. While the majority of birds build above ground, some build on the ground. Categories for the nest height are: above ground, high above ground, on the ground. Write down the height of the nest in a journal.

3 - Observe what type of platform was used to construct the nest: a bush or shrub, tree, eave of the house, building or in the grass. Record the results for further study.

4 - Record the position of the nest in regard to the platform. For instance, if the nest is located in a tree, is the position of the nest near the trunk, on the outer limbs, embedded in a secure cluster of limbs, or seemingly balanced on a few sprigs?

5 - Using a measuring tape, measure across the nest, top to bottom, and the depth of the inside of the nest. Record your findings in the journal. This will give you a good indication of the size of the bird. Nests that are about 4 inches across, 4 inches tall, and 2 inches in depth are typical for the American Robin.

6 - Observe the shape of the nest. Some species build nests shaped in ovals, tunnels, round and cup shaped. Cup-shaped nests are typical of songbirds. Write down the shape as your information may be referenced later when examining other nests.

7 - Study visually the materials that make up the nest and note that the nest is composed of two sections--the primary nest and an inside lining. Birds of different species will use different types of materials to build their home. Some of these include: twigs, grass, mud, sticks or paper. Linings used are commonly feathers, fur, hair, cotton or leaves.

8 -  Note whether eggs are present and their size, color, markings and shape. Be careful not to touch or disturb the eggs during observation.

9 -  Review notes and refer to the field guide for birds to determine what type of bird built the nest in question.

10 -  Watch for the bird to come home if the nest is an active one. This will tell exactly what type of bird the nest belongs to.