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Story: Introduced land birds

Male and female blackbirds

Although blackbirds are probably New Zealand’s most widespread bird, not many people know that only the male (top) is actually black. It also has a distinctive orange beak. The female blackbird (bottom) is brown with a variegated underside. She builds the nest and incubates the eggs, but the male joins in feeding the nestlings.

Listen to the calls of blackbirds, interspersed with some chaffinch calls.

Using this item

Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand

Reference: Bi0109LC1t.tif (top); DSCH0048Smd.JPG (bottom)

Sound file from the Department of Conservation.

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How to cite this page

Christina Troup, Introduced land birds – Blackbirds and song thrushes, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/natural-sounds/17159/male-and-female-blackbirds (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Christina Troup, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

Michelle Richards
02 September 2021
What does a female blackbird look like please
Matthew Glubb
30 June 2010
Today, almost the shortest day in mid-winter, cold and drizzly, I saw a female blackbird spend some minutes pecking at (eating ??) wood ash from an outside fire. Might this behaviour be to supplement the diet, to assist in digestion, or for nest building ? I suspect the latter is unlikely as it is probably too early.