common blackbird, Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) Description
English: Wood engraving of male Blackbird by Thomas Bewick in his A History of British Birds
Date 1797
Source A History of British Birds, Volume 1. R.E. Bewick, 1847
Author Thomas Bewick
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackbird_by_Thomas_Bewick.jpg
The common blackbird or Eurasian blackbird or simply blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. It breeds in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The common blackbird was described by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Turdus merula (characterised as T. ater, rostro palpebrisque fulvis). The binomial name derives from two Latin words, turdus, "thrush", and merula, "blackbird", the latter giving rise to its French name, merle, and its Scots name, merl.
