The blackbird family, known scientifically as the Turdidae, is a large and diverse family of songbirds found worldwide. The family includes many familiar birds such as robins, bluebirds, and thrushes. In North America alone, there are over 30 species in the blackbird family. So who exactly makes up this varied bird family?
What birds are considered blackbirds?
When most people think of a blackbird, they picture the common blackbird, which is an all-black songbird found throughout Europe. However, the blackbird family contains many species that are not all black. The common thread linking these birds is that they are medium-sized songbirds with slender bills. Most species have melodious songs and many consume insects, worms, fruits, and berries. Some of the most notable members of the Turdidae family in North America include:
- American Robin – A familiar backyard bird with a reddish-orange breast.
- Eastern Bluebird – A small thrush with brilliant blue plumage on the back and head.
- Wood Thrush – A forest-dwelling thrush with bold black spots on its white breast.
- Hermit Thrush – A shy thrush of northern forests, with rusty tail feathers.
- Swainson’s Thrush – A migratory thrush with a light brown back and buff-colored breast.
- Veery – A secretive thrush of dense undergrowth, noted for its descending spiraling song.
- Varied Thrush – A thick-billed orange and black thrush of western North America.
- American Pipit – A ground-foraging songbird that wags its tail up and down.
While the blackbirds may seem like a random assortment of songbirds, they do share several unifying characteristics that clue birders into their familial relationship. Most blackbirds have slender bills adapted for eating insects and fruit. They possess strong legs well-suited for hopping on the ground. Their songs are often melodious and complex. And they construct open cup nests in trees and shrubs.
Where are blackbirds found?
The family Turdidae has an incredibly vast range, with species inhabiting every continent except Antarctica. Here is a breakdown of where some of the major lineages within the blackbird family live:
- Thrushes – Occur on all continents except Antarctica. Most diverse in tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia.
- Chats – Found throughout Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. Range from tropical to temperate climates.
- Ousels – Distributed across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Present in montane habitats.
- Bluebirds – Native solely to the Americas. Migrate between North and South America.
- Robins – Occur across North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Absent only from Australia and Antarctica.
With such a cosmopolitan distribution, it is no wonder that the blackbird family contains so many species. The wide range of this family speaks to their adaptability and ability to thrive in diverse habitats and climates around the world.
What habitats do blackbirds occupy?
Member of the Turdidae family inhabit an impressive array of habitats across their vast geographic distribution. Some patterns emerge in terms of habitat preferences of major groupings within the family:
- Thrushes – Prefer shady, damp forests across the tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions where they occur.
- Chats – Favor open scrublands, grasslands, fynbos, and semi-deserts from Africa to Asia.
- Ousels – Restricted to mountainous areas, particularly in rocky slopes and gorges.
- Bluebirds – Usually found in relatively open habitats like meadows, pastures, orchards, and open woodlands.
- Robins – Extremely adaptable and occupy forests, shrublands, mountain terrain, tundra, and human-altered environments.
With such flexibility in habitat preferences, the blackbirds have been able to colonize a wide spectrum of ecological niches across the globe. Their diversity in habitat selection has likely contributed to the evolutionary success of this family.
What do blackbirds eat?
Most members of the Turdidae family are omnivorous to some degree, consuming a mixture of insects and fruit. More specifically:
- Thrushes – Consume a diverse mix of insects, earthworms, snails, berries, and fruit. They forage by digging through leaf litter on forest floors.
- Chats – Feed on insects like beetles, ants, and termites that they capture on the ground. Will also eat seeds and berries.
- Ousels – Employ a flycatching technique to capture insect prey. Also eat mollusks, crustaceans, and fruits.
- Bluebirds – Favor a diet heavy on insects like crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles. Also eat spiders, snails, berries, and seeds.
- Robins – Consume a wide variety of insects coupled with earthworms, fruits, and berries. They often follow lawn mowers to prey on disturbed insects.
This variation in diet among the group reflects the diversity of bill shapes and foraging strategies employed by different blackbird species. Most members of this family are generalists, giving them flexibility in their food choices.
How do blackbirds reproduce?
Reproductive strategies are fairly similar across the entire blackbird family, with most species exhibiting the following traits:
- Form monogamous pair bonds for breeding season, though some occasional polygyny occurs
- Males attract females with melodious and complex vocalizations
- Build open cup nests out of grasses, twigs, and mud
- Lay between 2 to 6 eggs per clutch
- Incubation period averages 12 to 14 days
- Young are altricial and require care and feeding by parents
- Fledglings generally leave the nest 10 to 16 days after hatching
This pattern of long-term pair bonding and shared parental care appears to be ancestral within the family. It may have evolved to enhance breeding success, as both parents are invested in raising offspring. Interestingly, some blackbird species are facultative polygynous, with males pairing with multiple females sequentially in a single breeding season.
What threats do blackbirds face?
Although the family remains ubiquitous and widespread, some specific blackbird species face significant threats, including:
- Habitat loss and degradation – Especially impacting forest and scrubland specialists
- Climate change – Threatens alpine ousels and migratory species with shifting conditions
- Invasive species – Compete with endemic island blackbirds for resources
- Poaching and trapping – Particularly sought after for food or cage birds in some regions
- Pesticides – Can accumulate in bodies and reduce reproductive success
While many blackbirds remain locally and regionally abundant, conservation will be needed to protect those species most at risk. Safeguarding critical habitats, combating climate change, and regulating exploitation will benefit vulnerable blackbird populations into the future.
Why are blackbirds important?
Beyond their beautiful songs and familiar presence, blackbirds confer many ecological and cultural benefits, including:
- Help control insect pest populations
- Play a role in seed dispersal for fruit-bearing plants
- Serve as indicator species for habitat health and environmental threats
- Pollinate flowers while foraging for nectar
- Act as predators that influence food webs and ecosystem function
- Provide recreational birdwatching and nature opportunities
- Feature prominently in folklore, poetry, music, and other arts
Ensuring healthy blackbird populations through conservation provides a cascade of positive impacts across ecosystems and human communities.
Major groups of blackbirds
Within the large and diverse Turdidae family, ornithologists recognize several major subdivisions based on phylogenetic analysis. These groups represent the main lineages within the blackbird family tree:
Thrushes
The thrush subfamily Turdinae contains nearly 200 species divided across multiple genera. Well-known thrushes include robins, bluebirds, nightingale, and solitary thrushes. They occur on all continents except Australia and Antarctica but are most diverse in the Americas.
Chats and chats
The chats belong to the subfamily Saxicolinae and include bush chats, wheatears, stonechats, and whinchats. There are around 130 species primarily found throughout Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. They inhabit open scrublands and grasslands.
Ousels
The genus Monticola is referred to as the ousels. The 8 species in this genus are found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. They are restricted to rocky mountainous regions and gorges.
Bluebirds
The North and South American genus Sialia includes the familiar bluebirds of the Americas. With just 3 species, they are the smallest lineage within the family Turdidae.
Longclaws
The longclaws in the genus Macronyx consist of around 5 species native to open grassy habitats in Africa. They are named for their unusually long, claw-like hind nails.
Crescentchests
The genus Melanocorypha includes the crescentchests, a group of 3 species found across open steppe and semi-desert regions of central Asia.
Nightingale-thrushes
The nightingale-thrushes in the genus Catharus are found exclusively in the Americas. Most of the 15 species breed in North America and migrate for the winter.
Notable species in the blackbird family
With over 200 species in the family Turdidae, it is impossible to describe each one in detail. But here is an overview of some of the most familiar, unique, and celebrated blackbirds from around the world:
American Robin
The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable songbirds in North America. They have rusty-orange underparts and are commonly seen hopping across lawns.
European Blackbird
As its name suggests, the European blackbird (Turdus merula) is all black with an orange-yellow bill. Its beautiful song is a regular feature across much of Europe.
Eastern Bluebird
With its brilliant blue plumage, the Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) is a common and colorful sight in North America. Their populations recovered thanks to nest box programs.
White-throated Thrush
Found across Siberia, the white-throated thrush (Turdus albicollis) migrates in massive numbers, forming large flocks on migration through northeast Asia.
Common Blackbird
The common blackbird (Turdus merula) of Europe, North Africa and Asia is actually a species of thrush, despite its name. The males live up to their name with all-black plumage.
Siberian Blue Robin
The Siberian blue robin (Larvivora cyane) is a small thrush-like bird breeds in forests across northern Asia. The males have brilliant azure blue upperparts.
Cliff Chat
As its name suggests, the cliff chat (Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris) nests on vertical cliffs and mountain sides across southern Africa. They have a conspicuous white wing patch.
Ring Ouzel
The Eurasian ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus) is a close relative of the blackbird, breeding in mountains from Europe to western China. The males have a prominent white neckband.
Conclusion
The blackbird family Turdidae is one of the most widespread, abundant, and instantly recognizable groups of songbirds in the world. From American robins hopping across North American lawns, to Eurasian blackbirds serenading from English gardens, to flocks of tiny ousels flitting among Himalayan rocky cliffs, the more than 200 species in this family embody diversity. Yet their shared traits, such as vocalizations, body shape, foraging habits, and reproductive strategies unite them. The continued survival of threatened blackbird species worldwide will depend on conserving the habitats and resources on which they depend. Ensuring the environmental health of the many ecosystems blackbirds inhabit will allow these cherished songbirds to continue brightening our lives with their beauty and music.