Editing Common blackbird (section)

===Breeding===
The male common blackbird attracts the female with a courtship display which consists of oblique runs combined with head-bowing movements, an open beak, and a "strangled" low song. The female remains motionless until she raises her head and tail to permit copulation.<ref name = Snow/> This species is monogamous, and the established pair will usually stay together as long as they both survive.<ref name = BWP/> Pair separation rates of up to 20% have been noted following poor breeding.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Ibis |volume=143 |issue=4 |pages=554–560 |last=Streif |first=Michael |author2=Rasa O. Anne E.|year=2001|title=Divorce and its consequences in the Common blackbird ''Turdus merula''|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.2001.tb04882.x}}</ref> Although the species is socially monogamous, there have been studies showing as much as 17% extra-pair paternity.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Behavioral Ecology|volume=15|issue=3|pages=508–519|year=2004|title=Extrapair paternity and the evolution of bird song|first=László Zsolt|last=Garamszegia|author2=Anders Pape Møller|doi=10.1093/beheco/arh041|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The nominate ''T. merula'' may commence breeding in March, but eastern and Indian races are a month or more later, and the introduced New Zealand birds start nesting in August (late winter).<ref name=Clement/><ref name= Observerbirdseggs/> The breeding pair prospect for a suitable nest site in a creeper or bush, favouring evergreen or thorny species such as [[ivy]], [[holly]], [[crataegus|hawthorn]], [[honeysuckle]] or [[pyracantha]].<ref name = NatEngland/> Sometimes the birds will nest in sheds or outbuildings where a ledge or cavity is used. The cup-shaped [[bird nest|nest]] is made with grasses, leaves and other vegetation, bound together with mud. It is built by the female alone. She lays three to five (usually four) bluish-green [[Bird egg|eggs]] marked with reddish-brown blotches,<ref name = Snow/> heaviest at the larger end;<ref name=Observerbirdseggs/> the eggs of nominate ''T. merula'' are {{cvt|2.9|×|2.1|cm|in}} in size and weigh {{cvt|7.2|g|oz}}, of which 6% is shell.<ref name = BTO>{{cite web|title= Blackbird ''Turdus merula'' [Linnaeus, 1758] |work= BTOWeb BirdFacts|url= http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob11870.htm |publisher=British Trust for Ornithology |access-date=30 December 2007}}</ref> Eggs of birds of the southern Indian races are paler than those from the northern subcontinent and Europe.<ref name = Clement/>

The female incubates for 12–14 days before the [[altricial]] chicks are hatched naked and blind. Fledging takes another 10–19 (average 13.6) days, with both parents feeding the young and removing faecal sacs.<ref name = BWP/> The nest is often ill-concealed compared with those of other species, and many breeding attempts fail due to predation.<ref name="Game and Wildfowl Conservation Trust">{{cite web|title= 89% of Blackbird nest failures are attributed to predators | url= http://www.gwct.org.uk/about_us/news/1212.asp| publisher= Game and Wildfowl Conservation Trust |access-date=23 January 2012}}</ref> The young are fed by the parents for up to three weeks after leaving the nest, and will follow the adults begging for food. If the female starts another nest, the male alone will feed the fledged young.<ref name = Snow/> Second broods are common, with the female reusing the same nest if the brood was successful, and three broods may be raised in the south of the common blackbird's range.<ref name = Clement/>

A common blackbird has an average [[life expectancy]] of 2.4 years,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/information/lifespan.htm |title=British garden birds – lifespan |access-date=7 April 2007 |publisher=garden-birds.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070424192443/http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/information/lifespan.htm |archive-date=2007-04-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and, based on data from [[bird ringing]], the oldest recorded age is 21 years and 10 months.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euring.org/data_and_codes/longevity-voous.htm |title= European Longevity Records |access-date=15 December 2007 |publisher=euring.org}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="160">
File:Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) female with nesting material South Bruny.jpg|Female with nesting material
File:Blackbird nest with 3 eggs.jpg|Eggs in a nest
File:Turdus merula -England -chicks in nest-8 (2).jpg|Two chicks in a nest
File:Blackbird Fledgelings 2020 a 60 fps.webm|Blackbird fledgelings being fed
File:Male Turdus merula feeding chicks.ogv|Male feeding chicks
File:02-Common Blackbird 1-Jan-2023 nX.webm|Common blackbird foraging in Norfolk, England
File:Turdus merula (AU)-full.webm|A common blackbird eating figs near Toulouse, France
File:Blackbird feeding.mpg|Feeding chick and removing faecal sac
</gallery>