#blackbird

[coolthingsguyslike]

[herpsandbirds]

Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), males, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory, Austin, TX, USA

photograph by Mark Luther Photos 

[esotheria-sims]

It was the third night since Annika ran away from home, and her supplies were running low. She was out of her hideout gathering berries when she caught sight of her father entering the forest, his telltale aura glowing in the murky dark.

Ducking behind the foliage, Annika observed. She could only make out so much from the distance, but she clearly noticed the sad, tired slump of the illuminated figure. He'd probably been out all day looking for her, worrying himself sick. Annika tried to swallow back her guilt; she felt awful for her dad, but couldn't go home. Not yet.

Gabriel Blackbird had scoured every nook and cranny of Wyvern's Bay in the three days his daughter had gone missing, turned every stone, tried every spell in the proverbial spellbook. But nothing had come up with any results. There was only one location left to try, and it was the one place he simultaneously hoped to find but also not to find her: the Crooked Forest, notoriously known as the hunting ground of the Great feral wyvern.

And indeed, there were traces of beastly presence everywhere Gabriel looked: clawed footprints as big as truck tires; hot embers casting an eerie glow on a pair of gnawed skeletons (human skeletons, he noted); and even two large, scaly eggs tucked away in the depths of a cave. Gabriel would rather not be around when the mom of those eggs came back for them.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by a gust of wind coming from behind, closely followed by the thunderous clap of wings. Wand at the ready, Gabriel whipped around and gasped in horror at the sight before him. To his great misfortune, Wyvern's Bay's eponymous apex predator had returned to its nest.

And it was now staring right at him.

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

I've collected some weird vintage bird imagery, from bird hats to bird people, ghost birds to giant birds.

[kavohh707]

Two years ago I saw this blackbird with leucism and last year the bird was nowhere to be seen, but this year he is back. And since he was very busy foraging for food I think he has chicks to feed. I have no clue where the nest is, but I would really like to see the fledglings this year to find out whether they have leucism as well.

[honey-grass]

🐦‍⬛ Common blackbird (Turdus merula)

🌿Cuxhaven, Germany

[admiralgiggles]

I’m almost offended that this handsome devil is considered common.

[emmbrr]

blackbird for avian august!

[birdblues]

Sandhill Crane & Red-winged Blackbird

[introvertedswimmer]

Red-winged Blackbird

[michaelnordeman]

Blackbird/koltrast. Värmland, Sweden (December 26, 2021).

[emilylorange]

a quick blackbird paint for the BirdWhisperer project (on twitter and bluesky) (original photo by Manfred Richter)

[herpsandbirds]

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), male, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, central US

photograph by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

[esotheria-sims]

As the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, their golden glow fell upon a peculiar scene on the ground: two sims standing above the carcass of a large dragon.

Huddled together, father and daughter were gazing down on the beast lying lifeless at their feet. The sword in the girl's hand, still dripping with blood, gleamed in the morning light. Miraculously, Annika and Gabriel Blackbird had survived their encounter with the Great feral wyvern. Both were alive, albeit not entirely unscathed.

Annika looked up at her dad and tears began to well in her eyes. Gabriel had taken the brunt of the fight, keeping a protection spell around the two of them for the whole duration of it; he might have forgotten to account for himself at one point.

They stood like that for a few more moments. When Annika finally broke the silence, her voice was barely more than a shaky whisper: "Dad... Let's go home."

[coolthingsguyslike]

[kavohh707]

The blackbird seems to be a bit cold. Right now it is quite cold here, with freezing temperatures in the night, but next week it will be warmer.