The young ones

More Blackbird activity.. the glut of males foraging on the wet grassy areas of lawn has now swollen:  Juvenile Blackbirds are out of the nest and begging for food, despite their full size and fledged appearance, they are either lazy or need to be coaxed and trained in to feeding themselves.

2 juvenile Blackbirds seeking food from a male bird

Identifying young Blackbirds often perplexes members of the public who find their plumage confusing and Thrush like: You can see from these pics that they are indeed spotted down the breast but the colour tones are close to an adult female Blackbird and they have the characteristic 'jizz' or appearance of Blackbirds: note the long tail, cocked upwards, very distinctive of prowling Blackbirds

Juvenile Blackbird, note characteristic stance

Juv Song Thrush has a clearly spotted breast

A juvenile Song Thrush has the spotted breast but more extensive than the young Blackbird, and much more clearly so: note the creamy base and distinct darker, black spots on the breast.  The colour tones of the upperparts are less tawny and colder brown in appearance: they are a neater bird in size too..


Separating Song Thrush from Mistle Thrush: now that might be a little more difficult, perhaps a good subject for the next post?