420 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Soft parts. — Bill : male, adult, orange-yellow, 1st winter 

 blackish-horn in autumn, becoming marked with yellow towards 

 end of year and orange-yellow as adult by spring and sometimes 

 as early as January ; female, adult, dark brown usually with some 

 yellow marks, sometimes dull j^ellow with browii tip, rarely almost 

 as bright orange-yellow as adult male, first winter dark brown ; 

 legs and feet dark brown ; iris dark brown ; eyelids yellow. 



Characters and allied forms. — T. m. hispanice (Spain) is said 

 to have comparatively shorter 3rd to 5th primaries ; T. m. cabrerce 

 (Madeira and western Canaries) has shorter wing and tail and 

 slenderer bill ; T. m. azorensis (Azores) like last but still shorter 

 tail, also rounder wing ; T. m. maiiritanicus (southern N.W. Africa) 

 has long tail (110-120 mm.) and female has dark grey-brown under- 

 parts and usually yellow bill ; T. m. algirus (N.Algeria, N. Tunisia) 

 as last but with shorter wing ; T. m. aterrimus (S.E. Europe, Asia 

 Minor) female has paler under-parts and whiter throat ; T. m. syriacus 

 (Syria, south Persia) male is more slate-black and female more 

 grey-brown, less rufous on breast and only throat streaked ; 

 T. m. intermedins (Turkestan) like last but larger {^ wing 132-140) ; 

 T. m. maximus (Kashmir) largest (r^ Aving 156-160). All these races 

 require careful comparison. Wing -formula of Blackbird differs 

 from other British Thrushes. 



Field-characters. — Male's orange bill and ey^e-rim, and all-black 

 plumage, umber-brown in female and dark brown and spotted 

 in young, distinctive. Fussy and garrulous, especially at roosting- 

 time. Notes of alarm and defiance " quilp," a thrice repeated 

 "mink," and, in flight, a rattling cackle " tchuk, tchuk, tchuk." 

 Song lacks variety of Song-Thrush's, a mellow fluting, ending in a 

 discordant squeak. 



Breeding-habits. — Usually nests within a fcAv feet of ground in 

 hedges, bushes, evergreens and ivy, occasionally in sheds, on ground,, 

 or at a considerable height in trees. Nest. — Not unlike that of 

 Thrush, but usually with more moss, solidified with mud and also 

 lined with it, but with an inner layer of dry grasses. Eggs. — 4-5, 

 sometimes 3 only, and rarely 6, while 7 recorded twice. Ground 

 normally bluish-green, sometimes freckled with red-broAvn or more 

 or less boldly marked with red-broAvn and grey shell-marks. IMark- 

 ings at times form caji or zone and a black streak is not uncommon. 

 Ground-colour occasionally ranges to clear blue, sometimes without 

 markings and rare variety is white Avith red-broAvn spots. AA^erage 

 of 80 British eggs, 29.4 X 21 .6 mm. Breeding -season. — Begins 

 March, but is not general till April, and lasts till July as several 

 broods are reared. Incubation. — By hen only as a rule, 13-14 

 days from last egg, 14-15 in incubator (Evans) ; 14 days (Ellison). 

 Fledging-period . — 13-14 days (Brock). 



