The Chinese blackbird (''Turdus mandarinus'') is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the related common blackbird (''T. merula'').

Subspecies

*The Chinese blackbird (''T. m. mandarinus'') breeds throughout much of southern, central and eastern China.MacKinnon, J., & Phillipps, K. (2000). ''A Field Guide to the Birds of China.'' Oxford University Press. Oxford. It is a partial migrant to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and south to Laos and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The male is sooty black, and the female is similar but browner, and paler on the underparts. p228 It is a large subspecies.Collar, N. J. (2005). Common Blackbird (''Turdus merula''). p. 645 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Christie, D. A. eds. (2005) '' Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Vol. 10. Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. *Sowerby's blackbird (''T. m. sowerbyi''), named for

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or ''English Botany'', include his detailed and app ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

naturalist and illustrator, breeds from eastern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...

. It is partially migratory, with some individuals spending the winter in southern China and northern

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

. It resembles ''mandarinus'', but is smaller and darker below.

References

Chinese blackbird Birds of China Chinese blackbird Chinese blackbird {{Turdidae-stub