Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Blackbird |
BlackbirdNoun1. Any bird of the family Icteridae whose male is black or predominantly black. 2. Common black European thrush. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "blackbird" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1812. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Blackbird Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae Genus: Turdus Species: merula Binomial name Turdus merula The Blackbird or Common Blackbird Turdus merula is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.
It is common in woods and gardens over all of Europe and much of Asia south of the Arctic Circle. Populations are resident except for northern birds which move south in winter.
Blackbirds are omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, worms and berries. They nest in bushes or similar, laying several (usually 4) blue eggs in a neat cup-shaped nest.
They do not form flocks, although several birds may be loosely associated in suitable habitat.
Adult males are all black except for a yellow eyering and bill. The male sings its varied and melodious song from trees, rooftops or other elevated perches.
The female and juvenile have brown plumage and lack the bright yellow bill and eye-ring of the male.
The Blackbird has been introduced to many parts of the world outside its native range. In Australia and New Zealand at least, along with the Black Rat, the Rabbit and the domestic cat, it is one of the most seriously destructive pest species, as the Red Fox is in Australia.
The Blackbird is not related to the North American Red-winged Blackbird, which is an Icterid, family Icteridae.
See also: blackbirding in New Guinea and the US military aircraft SR-71 Blackbird.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Blackbird."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Icterids
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalusScientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteridae The Icterids are a group of small to medium, often colourful passerine birds restricted to the New World.
They include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Despite the similar names, the latter groups are not related to the Old World Common Blackbird, which is a thrush (Turdidae), or the Old World orioles (Oriolidae).
Species are:
Family: Icteridae
Genus Dolichonyx
Genus Agelaius, American blackbirds
- Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Genus Nesopsar
- Saffron-cowled Blackbird, Agelaius flavus
- Yellow-winged Blackbird, Agelaius thilius
- Pale-eyed Blackbird, Agelaius xanthophthalmus
- Unicolored Blackbird, Agelaius cyanopus
- Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
- Red-shouldered Blackbird, Agelaius assimilis
- Tricolored Blackbird, Agelaius tricolor
- Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Agelaius icterocephalus
- Tawny-shouldered Blackbird, Agelaius humeralis
- Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, Agelaius xanthomus
- Chestnut-capped Blackbird, Agelaius ruficapillus
Genus Sturnella meadowlarks
- Jamaican Blackbird, Nesopsar nigerrimus
Genus Xanthocephalus
- Red-breasted Blackbird, Sturnella militaris
- White-browed Blackbird, Sturnella superciliaris
- Peruvian Meadowlark, Sturnella bellicosa
- Pampas Meadowlark, Sturnella defillippi
- Long-tailed Meadowlark, Sturnella loyca
- Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna
- Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
Genus Dives
- Yellow-headed Blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Genus Euphagus
- Cuban Blackbird, Dives atroviolacea
- Melodious Blackbird, Dives dives
- Scrub Blackbird, Dives warszewiczi
Genus Quiscalus , grackles
- Rusty Blackbird, Euphagus carolinus
- Brewer's Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
Genus Molothrus , cowbirds
- Boat-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus major
- Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula
- Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus
- Nicaraguan Grackle, Quiscalus nicaraguensis
- Greater Antillean Grackle, Quiscalus niger
- Carib Grackle, Quiscalus lugubris
Genus Icterus , New World orioles
- Bay-winged Cowbird, Molothrus badius
- Screaming Cowbird, Molothrus rufoaxillaris
- Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis
- Bronzed Cowbird, Molothrus aeneus
- Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
- Giant Cowbird, Molothrus oryzivorus
Genus Amblycercus
- Moriche Oriole, Icterus chrysocephalus
- Epaulet Oriole, Icterus cayanensis
- Yellow-backed Oriole, Icterus chrysater
- Yellow Oriole, Icterus nigrogularis
- Jamaican Oriole, Icterus leucopteryx
- Orange Oriole, Icterus auratus
- Yellow-tailed Oriole, Icterus mesomelas
- Orange-crowned Oriole, Icterus auricapillus
- White-edged Oriole, Icterus graceannae
- Spot-breasted Oriole, Icterus pectoralis
- Altamira Oriole, Icterus gularis
- Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus
- Hooded Oriole, Icterus cucullatus
- Troupial, Icterus icterus
- Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula
- Bullock's Oriole, Icterus bullockii
- Black-backed Oriole, Icterus abeillei
- Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius
- Black-cowled Oriole, Icterus prosthemelas
- Greater Antillean Oriole, Icterus dominicensis
- Black-vented Oriole, Icterus wagleri
- St. Lucia Oriole, Icterus laudabilis
- Martinique Oriole, Icterus bonana
- Montserrat Oriole, Icterus oberi
- Audubon's Oriole, Icterus graduacauda
- Bar-winged Oriole, Icterus maculialatus
- Scott's Oriole, Icterus parisorum
Genus Cacicus , caciques
- Yellow-billed Cacique, Amblycercus holosericeus
Genus Psarocolius , oropendolas
- Yellow-rumped Cacique, Cacicus cela
- Red-rumped Cacique, Cacicus haemorrhous
- Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Cacicus uropygialis
- Selva Cacique, Cacicus koepckeae
- Golden-winged Cacique, Cacicus chrysopterus
- Mountain Cacique, Cacicus chrysonotus
- Ecuadorian Cacique, Cacicus sclateri
- Solitary Cacique, Cacicus solitarius
- Yellow-winged Cacique, Cacicus melanicterus
Genus Ocyalus
- Casqued Oropendola, Psarocolius oseryi
- Crested Oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus
- Green Oropendola, Psarocolius viridis
- Dusky-green Oropendola, Psarocolius atrovirens
- Russet-backed Oropendola, Psarocolius angustifrons
- Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Psarocolius wagleri
- Black Oropendola, Psarocolius guatimozinus
Genus Gymnostinops ,
- Band-tailed Oropendola, Ocyalus latirostris
Genus Gymnomystax
- Montezuma Oropendola, Gymnostinops montezuma
- Baudo Oropendola, Gymnostinops cassini
- Amazonian Oropendola, Gymnostinops bifasciatus
Genus Pseudoleistes , marshbirds
- Oriole Blackbird, Gymnomystax mexicanus
Genus Amblyramphus
- Yellow-rumped Marshbird, Pseudoleistes guirahuro
- Brown-and-yellow Marshbird, Pseudoleistes virescens
Genus Hypopyrrhus
- Scarlet-headed Blackbird, Amblyramphus holosericeus
Genus Curaeus
- Red-bellied Grackle, Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster
Genus Gnorimopsar
- Austral Blackbird, Curaeus curaeus
- Forbes' Blackbird, Curaeus forbesi
Genus Oreopsar
- Chopi Blackbird, Gnorimopsar chopi
Genus Lampropsar
- Bolivian Blackbird, Oreopsar bolivianus
Genus Macroagelaius
- Velvet-fronted Grackle, Lampropsar tanagrinus
- Golden-tufted Grackle, Macroagelaius imthurni
- Mountain Grackle Macroagelaius subalaris
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Icterid."
Synonyms: BlackbirdSynonyms: merl (n), merle (n), ousel (n), ouzel (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Blackbird |
| English words defined with "blackbird": Agelaius phoeniceus ♦ Boat-tail ♦ cowbird, crow blackbird ♦ Euphagus carilonus ♦ grackle ♦ Hopping Dick ♦ Oxbiter ♦ Purple grackle ♦ redwing, red-winged blackbird, rusty blackbird, rusty grackle ♦ Woofell. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "blackbird": Merulidan. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Lyrics | Blackbird sitting in a tree (And The Tide Rushes In; performing artist: The Moody Blues) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Little Blue Blackbird (1938) Pie Blackbird Pie (1932) The Blackbird (1926) Blackbird Hall (1995) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A redwing blackbird perching atop reeds in a Patuxent river marsh. Arrow arum plants are in the foreground. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Blackbird Creek, at the mine site. This creek is devoid of life because of the high levels of copper leached from the mine. Contamination is from acid mine drainage containing high levels of copper. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |
 | Panther Creek, an image of the stream that was affected by Blackbird Mine. The creek had very good habitat but for the mine discharge. By 1960 steelhead trout and chinook salmon were extirpated from the river due to the contaminants released at Blackbird Mine. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |  | The West Fork of Blackbird Creek diverted into a collection pond downstream of the tailings impoundment. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |
 | Prarie potholes provide an abundance of vital habitat for wildlife. Here a Yellow-Headed Blackbird rests upon marsh grass. Credit: Tim McCabe. |  | Tri-colored blackbird in Yolo County. Credit: Gary Kramer. |
 | Far shot of Red Winged Blackbird, Lakeview District. Credit: Terry Spivey. |  | Blackbird eggs, Lakeview District. Credit: Terry Spivey. |
 | Blackbird nest. Credit: Alaska Image Library. |  | Yellow-headed Blackbird. Credit: Alaska Image Library. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Blackbird" by Nils N Kristensen Commentary: "Blackbird on the lawn." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Play | Caption |
 | Blackbird call. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | He tested it with his thumb and then shied it at a blackbird sitting on a fence wire |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Blackbird" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 60.91% of the time. "Blackbird" is used about 197 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 60.91% | 120 | 29,358 |
| Noun (proper) | 39.09% | 77 | 37,929 |
| Total | 100.00% | 197 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "blackbird" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Blackbird | Last name | 100 | 87,704 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "blackbird": Crow blackbird ♦ european blackbird ♦ marsh blackbird ♦ new World blackbird ♦ pied blackbird ♦ redwinged blackbird ♦ ring blackbird ♦ rusty blackbird ♦ skunk blackbird ♦ swamp blackbird ♦ water blackbird. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "blackbird": blackbird-blue. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "blackbird"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | mulizezë, mëllenjë (redwing, ring ouzel, Throstle, thrush). (various references) | |
Arabic | طائر أسود, شحرور. (various references) | |
Blackfoot | iimáóhkominniiksiini (red wing blackbird). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | кос (bevel, oblique, ousel, ouzel, sidelong, sideward, sideways, skew, slantways, slantwise, splay, thwart, transversal, transverse). (various references) | |
Chinese | 黑鹂. (various references) | |
Cornish | molgh dhu. (various references) | |
Czech | kos (ouzel). (various references) | |
Danish | solsort. (various references) | |
Dutch | merel, gieteling (clump weight, pig). (various references) | |
Esperanto | merlo. (various references) | |
Faeroese | kvørkveggja. (various references) | |
Finnish | mustarastas. (various references) | |
French | merle. (various references) | |
Frisian | swarte lyster. (various references) | |
German | Amsel. (various references) | |
Greek | κότσυφας. (various references) | |
Hungarian | feketerigó. (various references) | |
Indonesian | burung hitam. (various references) | |
Irish | lon. (various references) | |
Italian | merlo (battlement, merlon, ouzel). (various references) | |
Korean | 찌르레기. (various references) | |
Manx | lhonnag (blackbird immature), lhondoo (blackbird male). (various references) | |
Papago | s-chuk shashani. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ackbirdblay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | melro (merle, ousel, ouzel), toutinegra (redbreast). (various references) | |
Romanian | mierlã (ouzel). (various references) | |
Russian | черный дрозд (merle). (various references) | |
Scottish | lon-dubh. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | crni kos. (various references) | |
Spanish | mirlo (Merle, ouzel). (various references) | |
Swedish | koltrast (Merle). (various references) | |
Thai | นกยุโรปชนิดหนึ่ง. (various references) | |
Turkish | karatavuk. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | чорний дрізд (ousel). (various references) | |
Welsh | mwyalch, aderyn du. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | RM:merlotscha, Turdus merula. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "blackbird": blackbirded, blackbirder, blackbirders, blackbirding, blackbirds. (additional references) | |
| |
"Blackbird" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: blackband, blackbeard. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "blackbird" (pronounced bla"kberd) |
| 3 | -b er d | belabored, chambered, clambered, clobbered, cupboard, labored, dismembered, encumbered, harbored, membered, misremembered, numbered, outnumbered, remembered, scabbard, sobered, starboard, unencumbered. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-b-c-d-i-k-l-r" | |
-1 letter: baldrick. | |
-2 letters: baldric. | |
-3 letters: bardic, bicarb, bridal, ribald. | |
-4 letters: acrid, alcid, baric, black, braid, brail, brick, caird, daric, drail, kibla, laird, liard, libra, lidar, rabbi, rabic, rabid. | |
-5 letters: abri, acid, arid, aril, back, bail, bald, balk, barb, bard, bark, bilk, bird, birk, birl, blab, brad, cadi, caid, calk, carb, card, cark, carl, clad, crab, crib. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-b-c-d-i-k-l-r" | |
+1 letter: blackbirds. | |
+2 letters: blackbirded, blackbirder. | |
+3 letters: blackbirders, blackbirding. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Names: Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
