<P> Two related Asian Turdus thrushes, the white - collared blackbird (T. albocinctus) and the grey - winged blackbird (T. boulboul), are also named blackbirds, and the Somali thrush (T. (olivaceus) ludoviciae) is alternatively known as the Somali blackbird . </P> <P> The icterid family of the New World is sometimes called the blackbird family because of some species' superficial resemblance to the common blackbird and other Old World thrushes, but they are not evolutionarily close, being related to the New World warblers and tanagers . The term is often limited to smaller species with mostly or entirely black plumage, at least in the breeding male, notably the cowbirds, the grackles, and for around 20 species with "blackbird" in the name, such as the red - winged blackbird and the melodious blackbird . </P> <P> As would be expected for a widespread passerine bird species, several geographical subspecies are recognised . The treatment of subspecies in this article follows Clement et al. (2000). </P> <Ul> <Li> T. m. merula, the nominate subspecies, breeds commonly throughout much of Europe from Iceland, the Faroes and the British Isles east to the Ural Mountains and north to about 70 N, where it is fairly scarce . A small population breeds in the Nile Valley . Birds from the north of the range winter throughout Europe and around the Mediterranean including Cyprus and North Africa . The introduced birds in Australia and New Zealand are of the nominate race . </Li> <Li> T. m. azorensis is a small race which breeds in the Azores . The male is darker and glossier than merula . </Li> <Li> T. m. cabrerae, named for Ángel Cabrera, Spanish zoologist, resembles azorensis and breeds in Madeira and the western Canary Islands . </Li> <Li> T. m. mauretanicus, another small dark species with a glossy black male plumage, breeds in central and northern Morocco, coastal Algeria and northern Tunisia . </Li> </Ul>

When do blackbirds migrate south for the winter