Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Blackbird \Black"bird\ (bl[a^]k"b[~e]rd), n. (Zo["o]l.)
   In England, a species of thrush ({Turdus merula}), a singing
   bird with a fin note; the merle. In America the name is given
   to several birds, as the {Quiscalus versicolor}, or crow
   blackbird; the {Agel[ae]us ph[oe]niceus}, or red-winged
   blackbird; the cowbird; the rusty grackle, etc. See
   {Redwing}.