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There are numerous native bird species in Germany. However, only a fraction of the birds are completely black. Here you can find out how to recognize which species it is.

In a nutshell

  • number is surprisingly large
  • some species are protected
  • Sizes can vary significantly
  • regional occurrence very variable
  • many of the bird species are largely unknown

Black Birds from A to D

Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)

  • Size: about 38 cm long
  • Span: up to 85 cm
  • Plumage: black and glossy
  • Beak: short and yellow
  • Legs: red in adults, brownish in juveniles
  • Singing: whistling, chirping
  • Courtship season: all year round, even in winter
  • Breeding season: from April to July about 22 per clutch
  • Nest: burrows and semi-cavities
  • Occurrence: mountains
  • Wandervogel: no, stationary bird
  • Special feature: acrobatic gliding flights, very sociable and therefore often appear in swarms
  • Diet: Fruits, insects and spiders, small mammals and other birds
  • Males and Females: Males are larger and heavier, same plumage

Blackbird (Turdus merula)

  • Size: about 23 to 29 cm
  • Span: about 34 to 38 cm
  • Plumage: Black with silver or bronze fringes
  • Beak: yellow to orange
  • Song: melodic at rest, fear or calls for young are short and loud
  • Courtship period: in early spring
  • Breeding season: several clutches from March to July, each 14 days until hatching
  • Nest: cup-shaped
  • Occurrence: throughout Europe
  • Migratory bird: migratory or resident bird, depending on the temperature
  • Special feature: Females are lighter than males
  • Diet: Insects and larvae, very fine seeds, fruit

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)

  • Size: 33 to 39 cm
  • Wingspan: 45 to 58 cm
  • Plumage: Anthracite and black
  • Beak: dark, 20 to 23 mm long, strong
  • Singing: joyful, snapping sounds that sound metallic, large repertoire
  • Courtship period: around March
  • Breeding season: April to June
  • Nest: made of plant material in niches, holes and caves
  • Occurrence: Native to all of Europe
  • Migratory bird: partly migratory, partly resident depending on the climate
  • Distinctive feature: form lifelong monogamous pairs and are extremely social
  • Food: omnivores

Three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus)

  • Size: about 22 cm
  • Wingspan: 32 to 35 cm
  • Plumage: Black with white linear markings
  • Beak: dark, long, narrow
  • Vocals: wide spectrum
  • Mating season: from March
  • Breeding season: May to July
  • Nest: in living or dead trees, nest cavities
  • Occurrence: mountains
  • Wandervogel: no, stationary bird
  • Special feature: can completely peel off dead ones to get food
  • Food: mainly insects, their pupae, larvae and eggs

Notice: The three-toed woodpecker is potentially endangered. Especially in winter he can therefore use human help in the form of food.

from E to L

Loon (Gavia immer)

  • Size: 70 to 90 cm
  • Span: 122 to 148 cm
  • Plumage: Black with gray pattern during courtship
  • Singing: can be reminiscent of laughter, yodeling, or howling
  • Mating season: from March
  • Breeding season: late April to October
  • Nest: on the banks of bodies of water
  • Occurrence: only observed in Central Europe during winter
  • Wandervogel: migratory bird
  • Special feature: chicks are precocial
  • Diet: Smaller aquatic creatures such as fish, molluscs and toads

Magpie (Pica pica)

  • Size: 44 to 46 cm
  • Plumage: black and white
  • Song: Magpies don't sing, they make rattling noises
  • Mating season: from March
  • Breeding season: April to July
  • Nest: spherical, built in tall trees
  • Occurrence: Large parts of Europe, mainly found in settlement areas
  • Wandervogel: no, stationary bird
  • Special feature: very intelligent and social, belong to the corvids
  • Diet: Berries, fruits, small vertebrates, worms and bird eggs

Black guillemot (Cepphus grylle)

  • Size: 32 to 38 cm
  • Wingspan: approximately 68 cm
  • Plumage: Black body with white markings on wings
  • Song: reminiscent of chirping crickets
  • Courtship period: around April
  • Breeding season: May to August depending on temperatures
  • Nest: near water, sheltered in crevices
  • Occurrence: Northern Germany near the coast
  • Wandervogel: migratory bird
  • Special feature: only travels very short distances to ice-free areas
  • Diet: Fish, mollusks, crustaceans, plants

Raven (Corvus corax)

  • Size: 56 to 78 cm
  • Span: 100 to 150 cm
  • Plumage: black feather with gray accents
  • Singing: crowing and croaking sounds
  • Mating season: from January
  • Breeding season: February to April
  • Nest: sheltered, mostly higher locations
  • Occurrence: all of Europe
  • Wandervogel: no, stationary bird
  • Special feature: intelligent birds that also use tools
  • Food: mainly meat, like other birds, small mammals, but also insects, nuts, berries and refuse

from M to R

Common Swift (Apus apus)

  • Size: about 16 to 18 cm
  • Wingspan: 40 to 44 cm
  • Plumage: dark brown to black feathers
  • Singing: shrill, high-pitched sounds
  • Mating season: March to April
  • Breeding season: May to June
  • Nest: in crevices, niches, under roofs
  • Occurrence: all of Europe
  • Wandervogel: yes, migratory bird
  • Special feature: only land to sleep and breed
  • Food: flying insects

Notice: The food base and possible nesting sites are dwindling more and more. So far, however, the common swift is not considered endangered.

Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)

  • Size: 45 to 47 cm
  • Wingspan: 93 to 104 cm
  • Plumage: Ash gray with black head, wings, beak, legs and tail
  • Vocals: hard, hoarse "krrah"
  • Mating season: February to April
  • Incubation period: 17 and 19 days
  • Nest: in woods, clumps of trees, parks and gardens
  • Occurrence: predominantly in eastern Germany
  • Wandervogel: no
  • Diet: Seeds, berries, nuts, fruits, but also waste and often carrion

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

  • Size: 44 to 51 cm
  • Wingspan: about 130 cm
  • Plumage: black
  • Singing: rasping sounds
  • Mating season: from February
  • Breeding season: April to May
  • Nest: in high and sheltered locations
  • Occurrence: almost everywhere in Europe
  • Wandervogel: no, stationary bird
  • Special feature: very intelligent and social
  • Diet: Carrion, nuts, small animals, other birds, eggs, fruits, seeds

Black birds with S

Rook (Corvus frugilegus)

  • Size: 45 to 47 cm
  • Span: about 100 cm
  • Plumage: black
  • Song: crows and croaking sounds
  • Mating season: March to April
  • Breeding season: May to June
  • Nest: open nest in tall trees, usually in entire colonies
  • Occurrence: in almost all of Europe
  • Migratory bird: can be sedentary or migratory
  • Characteristics: intelligent, social, usually moves in swarms
  • Diet: Seeds, insects, larvae, small vertebrates, eggs and fruits and nuts

velvet duck (Melanitta fusca)

  • Size: 51 to 58 cm
  • Wingspan: 79 to 97 cm
  • Plumage: black feathers with markings
  • Song: Chattering and loud calls
  • Mating season: in May at the latest
  • Breeding season: from April to July
  • Nest: built near water
  • Occurrence: Northern Europe
  • Wandervogel: yes, it is a migratory bird
  • Special feature: winters in Germany,
  • Food: mussels, snails, fish, shellfish

Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius)

  • Size: up to 50 cm
  • Wingspan: about 70 cm
  • Plumage: black feathers with small markings
  • Song: very short calls that follow in quick succession
  • Mating season: March
  • Breeding season: April to June
  • Nest: burrows in trees
  • Occurrence: Europe, mainly in forests
  • Wandervogel: no, stationary bird
  • Special feature: can keep trees healthy as it feeds on parasites
  • Food: larvae, pupae, ants, beetles, berries, fruits, spiders, snails, caterpillars

Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)

  • Size: 90 to 105 cm
  • Span: 190cm
  • Plumage: black plumage
  • Singing: whistling and hissing sounds
  • Mating season: March and early April
  • Incubation period: 32-36 days
  • Nest: made of twigs and lined with moss, grass and leaves
  • Occurrence: during the summer in Europe
  • Migratory: A migratory bird that winters in Africa
  • Diet: Fish, frogs, newts, larvae, worms, insects, small mammals, birds and young aquatic plants

Notice: Black storks are under "eyrie protection". According to the Nature Conservation Act, people are not allowed to stay near (100m-200m) the nest (Horst).

spatula skuas (Stercorarius pomarinus)

  • Size: 50cm
  • Span: about 135 cm
  • Plumage: black body, white head
  • Singing: jubilant to croaking sounds
  • Mating season: April to May
  • Breeding season: June to July
  • Nest: built in colonies and on the ground
  • Occurrence: Europe near the sea or water
  • Wandervogel: yes
  • Special feature: lives in large colonies
  • Diet: mainly animal, such as fish, carrion and other chicks

Black birds from T to V

Razorbill (Alca torda)

  • Size: about 40 cm
  • Span: 60 to 70 cm
  • Plumage: Back and wings are completely black, breast and belly are white
  • Singing: whistling sounds to deep snarling
  • Mating season: from March
  • Breeding season: April to May
  • Nest: built on rock faces and cliffs
  • Occurrence: Europe near the sea
  • Wandervogel: yes
  • Special feature: visually resemble penguins
  • Diet: Aquatic creatures such as fish, snails and crustaceans

Common scoter (Melanitta nigra)

  • Size: 45 to 54 cm
  • Wingspan: 70 to 84 cm
  • Plumage: black
  • Singing: chattering lute
  • Mating season: early spring
  • Breeding season: around May
  • Nest: created in brood colonies
  • Occurrence: mainly in Northern Germany
  • Wandervogel: yes, it is a migratory bird
  • Special feature: produce a whistling noise during flight
  • Food: mainly aquatic creatures such as mussels, snails, fish but also annelids and insects

Black swan (Cygnus atratus)

  • Size: about 125 cm
  • Span up to 200 cm
  • Plumage: black feathers
  • Song: the black swan can croak, chatter, hum, hiss and whistle high-pitched
  • Courtship period: around February
  • Breeding season: March to June
  • Nest: is built in colonies and is close to water, are used several times
  • Occurrence: originally from Australia, widespread in Germany
  • Wandervogel: no, stationary bird
  • Special feature: Young animals are initially brown to grey
  • Food: Vegetable food, such as herbs, reeds and aquatic plants

Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)

  • Size: about 25 cm
  • Wingspan: 64 to 86 cm
  • Plumage: Dark gray to black feathers with white markings
  • Song: short, very high calls
  • Mating season: April to August
  • Breeding season: from May
  • Nest: breeding islands on the water
  • Occurrence: only rarely occurs in Germany, is considered to be threatened with extinction
  • Wandervogel: yes, it is a migratory bird
  • Special feature: Occurs in large colonies
  • Diet: Amphibians, fish and insects

Guillemot (Uria aalge)

  • Size: 38 to 46 cm
  • Wingspan: 61 to 73 cm
  • Plumage: Back and wings are black, breast and belly are white
  • Vocals: very loud grunting and howling noises
  • Mating season: from February
  • Breeding season: March to July, one clutch
  • Nest: Nests are not built
  • Occurrence: mainly in northern Germany
  • Migratory bird: partly migratory and resident bird
  • Special feature: resembles penguins, has a "dumb" gait
  • Food: aquatic life

from W to Z

White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)

  • Size: 20 to 24 cm
  • Wingspan: 50 to 56 cm
  • Plumage: Black body, white wing and tail feathers
  • Singing: deep, rough to rasping or squeaky sounds
  • Nest: is built on the water and anchored to aquatic plants
  • Occurrence: Europe, north-east Germany
  • Migratory bird: yes, migratory bird wintering in Africa
  • Special feature: does not breed in Germany
  • Diet: Insects, small fish and amphibians

Wave Runner (Oceanodroma)

the Oceanodroma tethys from the genus of wave runners (Oceanodroma).
  • Size: 18 to 21 cm
  • Wingspan: 45 to 50 cm
  • Plumage: dark to black feathers and light markings
  • Singing: whimpering or choppy sounds
  • Nest: built in crevices in rocks
  • Occurrence: in Europe on the open sea
  • Migratory bird: yes, it is a migratory bird that spends the winter in Africa
  • Special feature: does not breed in Germany
  • Food: Fish and other aquatic life

frequently asked Questions

What is the best way to identify the black birds?

If, despite the fact sheets, you are not sure whether the bird is native, try to take a photo that is as informative as possible. This can then be compared and provide clarity. Size, physique and singing also help with the assignment.

Is the bird really black?

Some bird species with very dark plumage appear black at first glance. Especially in the sun, however, it can be noticed that it is dark brown. Patterns and shimmering plumage are not uncommon, especially in the males of a species.

Does supplementation make sense?

Offering birdseed in winter has long been normal. In summer, however, the supplementary feeding is usually stopped. Most people still assume that native bird species will then be able to feed themselves sufficiently. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case in many areas. Pesticides, a lack of nesting sites and downright manicured gardens mean that there is no longer enough food to be found.

Should nest boxes be offered?

For some bird species, this makes perfect sense. Because suitable nesting sites are becoming increasingly difficult to find for many of the birds, regardless of whether they are black or of a different colour. Pay attention to a protected place and make sure that no predators can get in.

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Animals in the garden