418 A PEACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Europe, from Pyrenees to Alps, higher mountain-ranges of south 

 Germany, east to Balkans and Carpathians. On passage obtained 

 in Asia Minor, where it possibly breeds, also in Cyprus. 



TURDUS MERULA 



174. Turdus merula merula L. — THE BLACKBIRD. 



TuRDUs Merula Linnteus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 170 (1758 — Europe. 



Restricted typical locality : Sweden). 



Turdus merula Linnaeus, Yarrell, i, p. 280 ; Saunders, p. 13. 



Description (Plate 15). — Adult male. Winter. — Whole bird glossy 

 jet-black, inner margin of wing-feathers greyish. This plumage is 

 acquired by comjolete moult Aug. -Oct. (occasionally not complete 

 until Nov. -Dec). Summer. — No regular moult, but frequently 

 some body -feathers are moulted in March. Abrasion makes wings 

 browner. 



Adult female. WirUer. — Crown, nape and mantle very dark 

 umber ; back, rump and upper tail-coverts slightly less brown and 

 more blackish ; lores freckled with paler brown ; above lores a 

 dull greyish line ; ear-coverts dark umber with whitish-brown 

 shaft -lines ; apex of chin uniform pale grey ; whole throat pale 

 grey to buffish-grey streaked dark umber to rufous-brown ; upper- 

 breast pale umber to rufous-brown, each feather with darker, 

 somewhat triangular mark at tip varying in shape and strength ; 

 lower-breast and belly varying pale brown to grey-brown, feathers 

 often with whitish edgings and pale shaft-lines ; sides of breast and 

 belly rather darker with usually some spots as on upper-breast : 

 flanks and under tail-coverts umber with pale shafts ; axillaries 

 and under wing-coverts brown with pale shafts and often with 

 rufous tips and edgings ; tail brown-black ; wing-feathers brown- 

 black with greyish margins to inner webs and outer webs deep 

 umber ; wing-coverts deep umber. (N.B. — There is much individual 

 variation in colour of under-parts, rufous tinge being sometimes 

 scarcely noticeable, often strong and occasionally even of a pinkish- 

 chestnut tint, dark markings vary greatly in intensity, ground- 

 colour of throat varies from very pale grey to duU buffish-grey, 

 beUy from brown with whitish-brown edgings to dark slate-grey 

 with pale grey edgings.) Summer. — Abrasion makes upper-parts 

 rather browner, and when much worn under-parts lose much of 

 rufous tinge and many of dark spots. 



Nestling. — Down, fairly long but rather scanty, pale buffish- 

 grey. Distribution, inner supra-orbital, occipital, humeral, ulnar 

 and spinal. Mouth inside deep yellow, no spots ; externally 

 flanges yellowdsh-white. 



Juvenile. Male. — Crown, hind -neck, mantle and scapulars 

 dark umber, each feather with rufous mesial streaks, broader on 



