How to feed a blackbird

The common blackbird or Turdus merula is a bird native to North Africa, Europe and Asia but, today, is widespread in more areas of the world such as South America and Australia. It is a passerine bird, that is to say a small songbird, which lives around 13 years. It is very common to see them not only in the forests, but also in the parks and gardens of large cities. We can differentiate the males by being completely black with the legs and the outline of the eyes of yellow color, whereas the females and the young are brown.

Do you have one at home or do you frequent your garden a lot? So it is important that you know what is the feeding of these birds and, for this, in .com we will explain how to feed a blackbird .

Steps to follow:

one

Blackbirds are omnivorous birds, that is, they feed on vegetables as well as other animals. They mainly eat insects, worms and fruits, although they also include seeds in their diet sometimes. As spring and summer is the time of reproduction they need more protein and other nutrients and, therefore, the amount of insects and worms that these birds ingest increases considerably. On the other hand, in autumn and winter, their diet is based more on fruits than on animals.

two

If you observe them it is very easy to see them flutter close to the ground and jump, this is why they search for their food mainly on the surface of the soil, they dig a little the earth and there they find small insects and worms. Sometimes they eat small tadpoles and lizards, but this is less so.

We also see them in the trees looking for insects and worms that live in them, such as caterpillars, but when they are in the trees or in the bushes they mainly look for small fruits such as berries, blackberries or cherries, although the type of fruit depends completely on the area where they live.

3

If you want to know how to feed a blackbird or Turdus merula yourself because they visit you often in your terrace or garden, the first thing you should keep in mind is that you should place small plates or feeders in different parts of the garden so they can go and eat your account, since being free birds are not used to direct contact with humans.

Also, it is true that if you become a habit to be present while eating the food that you provide them and little by little they get used to you, it is easy for them to come and even get some food directly from your hand.

4

If it turns out that you have the bird inside your house as a pet or why you rescued one that fell from the nest, it will eat much easier from your own hand. If you want to feed a baby, offer her food with a syringe or something similar and you will see that she comes alone and opens her beak. Let little by little fall into his throat and swallow food itself, it is not advisable that we try to get into the crop ourselves, since complications can easily occur.

5

The food for a blackbird chick should be based more on small animals such as insects and molluscs than on fruits, but for an adult specimen you should specify their diet according to the time of year, specifically, in the breeding season you should give more animals and the rest of the year it will be better to increase the vegetables in your diet. This is the food you can offer to a blackbird or Turdus merula :

  • Paps and preparations: these preparations should be special for insectivorous birds, you will find them in pet stores
  • Live insects: the most suitable are worms such as caterpillars, worms, worms of flour, etc. But you should also include in the diet flies, mosquitoes, beetles and small snails among others.
  • Fruits: they mainly eat berries of black elderberry, aligustre, mistletoe, blackberries, blackberries, etc. They also eat small fruits such as cherries, grapes, figs, among others. Also, if we offer you larger pieces of fruit such as apples, they will also eat them easily.

6

If you follow these tips you will see that the blackbird will be well nourished and healthy and, in addition, offering food will help you create a bond that will make you return to your garden more times so you can enjoy your song so characteristic and relaxing. If you enjoyed knowing how to feed a blackbird you may also find these articles on feeding other birds useful:

  • How to feed a budgie
  • How to feed a parrot
  • How to feed a canary
  • How to feed a sparrow