Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Common blackbird

Common blackbird

 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page. 

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/October 22, 2015 by — Chris Woodrich (talk) 14:04, 7 October 2015 (UTC)



The common blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. It is also called Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a similar-looking local species. It breeds in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few of the Asian subspecies are sometimes considered to be full species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. The male of the nominate subspecies, which is found throughout most of Europe, is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill and has a rich, melodious song; the adult female and juvenile have mainly dark brown plumage. This species breeds in woods and gardens, building a neat, mud-lined, cup-shaped nest. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms, berries, and fruits. This common and conspicuous species has given rise to a number of literary and cultural references, frequently related to its song.
 * Most recent similar article(s): Choiseul pigeon - September 29, 2015
 * Main editors:
 * Promoted: January 7, 2008
 * Reasons for nomination: A common familiar bird in many cities, I like the idea of interesting folks in things around them.
 * Support as nominator. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 11:12, 29 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Support: There is one cite error that needs to be addressed. Otherwise it looks to be in fine shape. Praemonitus (talk) 16:45, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Support although I'd suggest using the current lead image or File:Blackbird 2.jpg as the mainpage image rather than the proposed one—the latter's plumage is a little too black for its own good and he's holding his wings flush to his body, which means that at TFAIMAGE he appears wingless (see right for comparison of the three images at mainpage size). &#8209; iridescent 09:48, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Ok, fair call - I changed the image. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 10:27, 5 October 2015 (UTC)