If you hear a rustle in a pile of fallen leaves this autumn, it is worth stopping for. It might be a common blackbird (Turdus merula) at work. Blackbirds feed almost entirely on the ground, and the Woodland Trust suggests you look and listen for them flipping fallen leaves as they search for food underneath. Earthworms are a favourite; insects, berries and fruit are on the menu too.
Not every blackbird is black. The males are, with an orange-yellow beak and a yellow ring around the eye. The females are brown, often with spots and streaks on the breast (RSPB). That is why the bird digging through the leaves in our clip is brown: she is a blackbird too.
In this Scan of the week, Pori hears the rustle in a corner of the schoolyard and scans a blackbird. Both bird photos are real observations shared on iNaturalist; the schoolyard and Pori are drawn.
The Easter egg lives in the same leaves. Did you spot the woodlouse? The common rough woodlouse (Porcellio scaber) mainly feeds on decaying leaf litter, so a pile of old leaves is food for more than one neighbour.
Scan of the week is part of our pilot of short clips that send young people outside, ideally with someone, to find one real species near them.
Found in this clip
- common blackbirdTurdus merula
- common rough woodlousePorcellio scaberhidden in the clip
Try it outside
Find a pile of fallen leaves under a hedge or a tree this week, in a park, a garden or the schoolyard, with your family, friends or your class. Stand still for one minute and listen. Who hears the rustle first? If it's a blackbird, watch from a distance as it flicks the leaves aside. Look, don't touch, and leave the leaves where they are.
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Illustrations and Pori's voice made with AI; the blackbird photos are real.
All field notes