Blackbird

Lofty soloist, dusk scolder

Welcome to Shriek of the Week. It’s the start of this newsletter, and the start of 2021. Why hold the best back?

The song of the blackbird is about as good as it gets. Ornithologist W H Hudson described it as ‘nearer to human music than any other bird song’.

The sound is mellow, unhurried and rich.

It is varied, but not exhaustingly so (hello, song thrush).

And it can be especially noticeable and welcome in urban streets, where a blackbird may be the only bird singing. The notes are almost always delivered from a high perch, whether chimney stack or treetop, which helps the sound carry.

Blackbirds do sing occasionally in mid-winter, but they don’t really get going until early Spring. A more reliable sound to listen out for in the New Year is the distinctive alarm they give as they go to roost.

During the short winter days blackbirds seem happy enough to share space with each other. It’s not unusual to see several adult males hopping around the same lawn or field edge.

(Compare that with the robin, which will enthusiastically evict a rival in defence of its patch, any time of year.)

But while they tolerate company in daylight hours, blackbirds prefer to sleep alone. Just before dark, as they settle into their separate roost spots (typically an ivy-clad tree or wall), they will proclaim them with this insistent call.

It’s the same alarm they give from time to time during the day, when warning off a predator. Sometimes it rises in pitch, from a ‘tchuk-tchuk’ to a ‘tchink-chink’.

At dusk, on a still evening, you may hear it in surround-sound, from all directions across the landscape.

I associate the sound with being on the last leg of an afternoon walk in January. It’s a reminder to step a little quicker, if you’re to get home before you trip over in the dark.

~ Charlie

Listen to more sounds of the Blackbird via the Birdsong Academy website, where there’s also information on upcoming online courses and 1-1 birdsong consultations.

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There’s a new Shriek of the Week every Friday. What sounds help you find and enjoy birds? Leave a comment or send me a message with your thoughts.

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Thanks and credits:
Blackbird alarm call audio adapted from an original recording by Fintan O’Brien on Soundcloud.