BLACKBIRD

(Black Ouzel)

28th December 2023

Photo Credit: TobyPhotos (Getty Images), CANVA

I see their knavery. This is to make an ass of me, to fright me,

if they could. But I will not stir from this place, do what they can.

I can walk up and down here, and I will sing, that they shall

hear that I am not afraid.

The ouzel cock, so black of hue,

With orange-tawny bill,

The throstle with his note so true,

The wren with little quill

BOTTOM: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, Scene 1

BLACKBIRD (Black Ouzel) (Turdus merula)

The Blackbird, or as it is called by Shakespeare, the Black Ouzel, appears twice. Once in a Midsummer Night’s Dream and once in Henry IV, Part 2. The distinctive colour and the distinctive song are the basis for including the bird.

Only male Blackbirds are black with their yellow-orange beaks and their yellow eye ring. The females are brown often with spots or streaks on their front and with a brown beak. Blackbirds are part of the Thrush family, Turdidae. Blackbirds are common garden birds throughout the UK. They do have a rarer relative, the Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus), which is a summer visitor to upland areas of Britain. Blackbirds have a pleasant song and can also sing at night. The British Trust for Ornithology have put together a film to help identify the songs of the 4 night singing birds in the UK: the Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Nightingale.

Missy Dunaway is celebrating the Birds of Shakespeare through art and poetry.

More Information

British Trust for Ornithology: Blackbird, Ring Ouzel, Night Singing Birds

Harting, E.H., 1871, Birds of Shakespeare (available via Archive.org)

Missy Dunaway: Birds of Shakespeare

RSPB: Blackbird, Ring Ouzel