Every once in a while I forget where I live, and get caught in a game of 'What's that bird?".

Divers = Loons
Brent = Brant
Wigeon = Eurasian Widgeon
Goosander = Common Merganser

are all good examples.

But my two particular favourites are English names which were adapted for birds found only in Northern America.

The first is the Robin. In England, this is a cheerful little bird, with a red breast. In the US and Canada, the Robin is actually the American Robin, and is in fact a member of the Thrush family.

The second is the Blackbird. In England, this is a medium sized black bird. In the US and Canada, a blackbird can mean a few different birds, as there are Brewer's Blackbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, etc.

The English Blackbird is a member of the Thrush family, and the US blackbirds are not!

Very confusing .

Kingfisher

I agree - very confusing! :-/

My RSPB book also states that UK robins and blackbirds are of the same species (Passeriformes) which is hard to believe as they are so totally different LOL! So what does your US Blackbird look like then Kingfisher - have you a piccy by chance?!?

Sorry to steal your thread, but on the subject of Blackbirds, has anyone 'ever' seen a Ring-Ouzel? They are supposed to be in my area, but no word or sightings yet...

I had no idea that the names were for different birds, so thanks for bringing that up, it could of been embarrassing if I ever go to America!

It would be great to see a picture of an American blackbird and robin, I'd be interested to see them.

They have been sighted here in Derbyshire in the Goyt Valley this year again. When I first started wandering the Dark Peak countryside in the Peak District many years ago, they were quite common, but sadly the numbers have declined over the years, but they still can be seen.

Here's a link to the American Robin:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/AMEROB/

As noted in the article, the American Robins I see are the darker variety.

Brewer's Blackbirds:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/BREBLA/

Red-Winged Blackbirds:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBir...kbird.html

Rusty Blackbirds:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBir...kbird.html

Yellow-headed Blackbirds:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBir...kbird.html

There's also a variety of the Red-winged Blackbird, known as the Bi-colored Blackbird. It lacks the yellow on the wing, and is found only on the West Coast of the United States (mainly in California).

I've seen all the species of blackbirds, including the Bi-colored Blackbird .

Kingfisher

Well yours are certainly more colourful than ours *jealous*!

The funny thing is that those of us on the west coast, think that the people on the east coast have the more colourful birds. I've discovered that's not entirely true, but the east coast does have some marvelous birds that we lack here on the west coast.

Kingfisher

Would that be why juvenile robins and female blackbirds are both brown with speckled breasts? (Would thushes fall into the same species?)

^ Yes they do Timberwolf! They are all of the 'Turdidae' family

Glancing through my book indeed nearly all of the juveniles of this family have a speckled breast of some degree, all except the Wheatear!

And the American Robin is also a member of the Turdidae family, so the juvenile American Robins have speckled breasts. I did tell you it was confusing, eh?

Kingfisher