Il Merlo belongs to the order Passeriformes, family Turdidae. The adult male of the species is an unmistakable bird: medium-small size (24-26 cm), entirely black plumage from which the large yellow beak stands out; closely, the periocular contour, also yellow, can be identified. The young man Merlo male until the first winter has, like the plumage, black beak and periocular ring. The female and the young of Merlo can be confused with the Song Thrush: both species have dark streaks and speckles on the chest and belly, but in the Thrush they are much more marked and evident, in the Merlo they blend in with the dark brown color of the lower parts. Furthermore, the female and the young of Merlo they have brownish-gray upper parts, much darker than those of the Thrush. The Merlo it is not a gregarious species, on the ground it moves hopping and not walking, and when it rests it moves its tail upwards and then slowly lowers it.
MERLO: Habitat and distribution range
Il Merlo it nests in a wide variety of environments, from woods with moist soil and thick undergrowth to marginal habitats such as moors, cliffs and wetlands. The Merlo it is commonly found in urban and suburban areas, gardens, parks and hedges, practically wherever there are trees and bushes. The only diffusion limit is the altitudinal one: in fact it does not nest above the limit of the arboreal vegetation. It regularly lays 2-3 broods of 3-5 eggs each. Polytypic species with Palearctic-Eastern chorology, the Merlo it nests all over Europe with the exception of the extreme northern regions. The northern populations are mainly migratory, the southern ones mostly sedentary. The Merlo it is a nocturnal migrant, the migration peaks are in October and March. Northern populations move south or southwest to spend the winter there (Snow & Lack, 1986). In Italy the Merlo it is partial migrant, breeder, resident and winter visitor. Widespread and abundant both in the peninsular territory and on the islands, it is instead scarce in Puglia, particularly in Salento (Meschini & Frugis, 1993; Fornasari et al., 2002). Most abundant at altitudes between 250 and 1000 m asl, where the coverage of the broad-leaved forest is more extensive. Well adapted to coexistence with humans: its relative abundance is positively correlated to the presence of urban gardens and parks (Fornasari et al., 2002).
MERLO: Population size and trend
Il Merlo it belongs to a species with widespread continental level, counts from 33 to 71 million breeding pairs (Heath et al., 2000), and is considered stable, or even slightly increasing from the numerical point of view. In Italy it is estimated the presence of 2-5 million breeding pairs. In recent years the Merlo it has shown a tendency to increase and above all to urbanization. Between 2000 and 2001 it seems to have undergone strong local decreases following an epidemic of avian malaria (Fornasari et al., In press).
MERLO: Conservation and management
Il Merlo it has a favorable conservation status, with populations mainly concentrated in Europe (Tucker and Heath, 1994). The Merlo it is not protected by Italian law. The population is subject to temporary decreases following avian diseases, as occurred between 2000 and 2001 (Fornasari et al., In press).
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and how good the blackbird is on a spit with lard