Bird Album
Chinese Blackbird
Turdus mandarinus Bonaparte, 1850
28–29 cmLength103 gWeight
The male is black overall with an orange-yellow bill and a thin, narrow yellow eye-ring.
Busiest months: December–January and April–May · Most records: China, South Korea, Vietnam
Looks like Common Blackbird
How to identify
Field marks
- Male has a bright orange or yellow bill
- Male has a thin, narrow yellow eye-ring
- Male is black with a rufous-black belly
- Blackish-brown legs and feet; body length about 28–29 cm
Male, female and young
Female is slightly brownish, with a pale throat bearing broad dark markings and a brownish bill; juvenile has a brown crown and small black breast spots.
Voice
Male gives repeated whistling song phrases from high branches, such as “piew-piew”.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Chinese Blackbird has been recorded at 1,055 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 9 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Kinmen – Botanical GardenChina1,487 records
- Century ParkChina1,443 records
- Olympic Forest Park SouthChina1,143 records
More places
- Nanhui DongtanChina1,033 records
- Hangzhou Botanical GardenChina921 records
- Kinmen – Agricultural Research InstituteChina874 records
- Peking UniversityChina838 records
- Temple of HeavenChina725 records
- Shanghai High SchoolChina696 records
- Seoul – Olympic ParkSouth Korea678 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The Chinese blackbird (Turdus mandarinus) is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the related common blackbird (T. merula).
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Chinese Blackbird?
The Chinese Blackbird is about 28–29 cm long and weighs around 103 g.
Where does the Chinese Blackbird live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: eastern, central China. It is most often recorded in China, South Korea and Vietnam.
When is the best time to see the Chinese Blackbird?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, April, May and December (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Chinese Blackbird endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Chinese Blackbird as Least Concern.
What does the Chinese Blackbird eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Chinese Blackbird in?
It belongs to the family Thrushes (Turdidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- 28–29 cm
- Weight
- 103 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Varied
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 147 mm
- Tail
- 105 mm
- Bill
- 31 mm
- Tarsus
- 36 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: eastern, central China
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 2
- Turdus mandarinus sowerbyi c China
- Turdus mandarinus mandarinus e China
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Thrushes Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Other birds in the genus Turdus
Ethiopian ThrushTurdus simensis
Groundscraper ThrushTurdus litsitsirupa
Chinese ThrushTurdus mupinensis
Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
African ThrushTurdus pelios
Principe ThrushTurdus xanthorhynchus
Sao Tome ThrushTurdus olivaceofuscus
Abyssinian ThrushTurdus abyssinicus
Taita ThrushTurdus helleri
Usambara ThrushTurdus roehli
Olive ThrushTurdus olivaceus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Charles Lam. ↗
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