Tibetan blackbird
Turdus maximus (Seebohm, 1881)
The tibetan blackbird (Turdus maximus) is a species in the family Turdidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 89.5 g to 102 g and live up to 21.1 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the tibetan blackbird
- Weight
- 89.5 g – 102 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 21.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 21.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 4src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the tibetan blackbird live?
Not recorded
What is the tibetan blackbird?
The Tibetan blackbird (Turdus maximus) is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is found in the Himalayas from northern Pakistan to southeastern Tibet. Originally described as a separate species by Henry Seebohm in 1881, it was then considered a subspecies of the common blackbird until 2008, when phylogenetic evidence revealed that it was only distantly related to the latter species. It is a relatively large thrush, having an overall length of 23–28 centimetres (9.1–11 inches). Males are blackish-brown all over with darker plumage on the head, breast, wings and tail and dull orange-yellow bills, while females have browner underparts, faint streaking on the throat, and a dull darkish yellow bill. Both sexes may seem slightly hooded. It can be differentiated from the common blackbird by its complete lack of an eye-ring and reduced song.
The Tibetan blackbird inhabits steep grassy, rocky slopes and alpine meadows above the tree line. Usually found at elevations of 3,200–4,800 metres (10,500–15,700 feet), it descends to lower elevations in the winter, but seldom below 3,000 m (9,800 ft). It is omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates, lizards, fruit, and seeds. Breeding occurs from May to July, peaking from June to early July. Cup nests are made out of mud, animal hair, and fine grass and contain clutches of 3–4 eggs. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as being of least concern due to its large range, along with a large and increasing population.
From the Wikipedia article “Tibetan blackbird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tibetan_blackbird&oldid=1380491196), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the tibetan blackbird endangered?
The tibetan blackbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the tibetan blackbird classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyTurdidae
- genusTurdus
- SpeciesTurdus maximus (Seebohm, 1881)
Synonyms Merula maxima, Turdus mandarinus maximus, Turdus maximus maximus, Turdus merula buddae, Turdus merula maximus
Other names and names in other languages (35)
- merla de l'HimàlaiaCatalan
- Tibet SolsortDanish
- TibetamselGerman
- tibeta turdoEsperanto
- Mirlo del HimalayaSpanish
- mägi-musträstasEstonian
- سیاهپر تبتیPersian
- himalajanmustarastasFinnish
- Merle de l'HimalayaFrench
- Merle de l’HimalayaFrench
- čađasti kosCroatian
- Tibeti feketerigóHungarian
- Merlo tibetanoItalian
- Tordo tibetanoItalian
- チベットクロウタドリJapanese
- チメットクロウタドリJapanese
- 티벳검은새Korean
- tibetinis strazdasLithuanian
- Tibetaanse MerelDutch
- tibettrostNorwegian
- drozd himalajskiPolish
- melro-tibetanoPortuguese
- melro-dos-himalaiasPortuguese
- Тибетский дроздRussian
- Тибетский чёрный дроздRussian
- drozd tibetskýSlovak
- Tibetanski kosSerbian
- tibettrastSwedish
- tibetansk koltrastSwedish
- tibetkoltrastSwedish
- Tibet KaratavuğuTurkish
- Tibet Karatavuk Ardıç KuşuTurkish
- дрізд тибетськийUkrainian
- 藏乌鸫Chinese
- 藏烏鶇Chinese
Relatives of the tibetan blackbird
Other species in the same genus Turdus.
Common blackbird
Turdus merula
Song thrush
Turdus philomelos
Fieldfare
Turdus pilaris
Mistle thrush
Turdus viscivorus
Ring ouzel
Turdus torquatus
Redwing
Turdus iliacus
CompareTibetan blackbird vs Common blackbirdTibetan blackbird vs Song thrushTibetan blackbird vs FieldfareTibetan blackbird vs Mistle thrush
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the tibetan blackbird?
An adult tibetan blackbird weighs 89.5 g – 102 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the tibetan blackbird endangered?
The tibetan blackbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the tibetan blackbird live?
The tibetan blackbird has a recorded lifespan of 21.1 years.
What kind of animal is the tibetan blackbird?
The tibetan blackbird (Turdus maximus) belongs to the family Turdidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Tibetan blackbird (Turdus maximus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tibetan-blackbird
“Tibetan blackbird (Turdus maximus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tibetan-blackbird.
@misc{tibetan_blackbird_2026,
title = {Tibetan blackbird (Turdus maximus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tibetan-blackbird},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}