Blackbird
Turdus merula
Lon dubh
The male Blackbird's matt black plumage and striking orange-yellow bill are so distinctive that it requires no further description. The brownish female is sometimes mistaken for a thrush because of its pale and speckled throat but the differences are obvious from close range. The male Blackbird is one of Ireland's best song birds. Its song is deeper, with Iess repetition, than that of the Song Thrush, but is nonetheless similar. The alarm call is all excited squawk.