Strolling through the park – mostly concrete – I came across quite a lot of Blackbirds, Turdus merula, searching for food in the plant borders. And, of course, I had to grab a few shots. Didn’t see any find a worm but they were quite industrious in their efforts.

The Common or Eurasian Blackbird, Turdus merula, is a species of true thrush and a breeding bird in Europe, Asiatic Russia and North Africa.

It is very often simply referred to as Blackbird in areas where this won’t cause confusion with other species – Eurasian Blackbird is used in America where they have their own, unrelated, species of Blackbird.

The male, as seen in these photos, is black except for a yellow eye-ring and yellow bill. The adult female is basically brown in colour with a dull yellowish-brown bill, a brownish-white throat and some mottling on the breast.