blackbirds

[deggers316]

seems a bit strange to me being a city dweller and not seeing much bird life, but in my tiny garden i put some seed and meal worms out for the usual 2 collared doves and my blackbird, now today the blackbird arrives with two fledglings and picks up the meal worms to feed the two fledglings,my query is the two fledglings are bigger than the "i presume father cos he's black" is this right or could he be feeding another type of larger fledging, i think highly unlikely but i don't know?

[rowanwitch]

they look bigger because they are still covered in fluffy feathers///

[deggers316]

i though that too but there taller as well?

[commoner]

If the parent was really black it was the male ..the female is brown.......a little known fact about Blackbirds is that once the young are fledged the parents split the family up - mum looks after some and dad the others, not many species of bird do this......

Funny that some modern day human families seem to have picked up this habit .-)

[deggers316]

well it definitely the dad i know the female blackbirds are brown

[deggers316]

to be honest i thought they were full grown thrushes there so like them

[Wharton]

....and dad looks after his lot longer than mum does hers

[commoner]

...yes the fledglings have different feathers to adults until the first proper moult and can look a bit like a dark brown thrush with some spotting....the female often starts a new nest before she has really finished with the old brood so they have to fend for themselves a bit earlier than those with the male.....birds are sooo interesting.....

[Prudie]

I have a pair that have been raising their young in my garden. They spend most of the day alarm calling because of my cat so I wonder why they picked my place but they do it every year.

[commoner]

Providing the cat can't actually reach the nest they'll be fine.....they'll see the cat before it sees them.....must have other good features in your garden that outweigh the threat of the cat....birds are probably smarter than the average cat when it comes to self preservation,,,