Capercaillie is the largest bird of the grouse family that lives in our country. It lives almost throughout Russia. It prefers to settle in dense coniferous forests, near swamps, sometimes this bird also settles in a mixed forest. Capercaillie leads a sedentary lifestyle. But sometimes it can fly from one forest to another.

Capercaillie has a very beautiful plumage. Males are brighter in color than females. The back is black-gray with light speckles, the chest is greenish with a metallic tint. The color of the wings is grey. In addition, by spring, their eyebrows swell, which turn red during the current.

Capercaillie females are “dressed” more modestly, and are very similar for a female black grouse .

It feeds only on plant foods and insects. Their summer diet is dominated by grass, flowers, berries, tree leaves, beetles, grasshoppers and other insects...

The capercaillie does not often use its wings for its intended purpose - it rarely flies. And if it flies somewhere, then, as a rule, it rises no higher than the trees.

Current for capercaillie is probably the most interesting activity in their life. They can mate at any time of the year, but the mating season begins only in the spring. In the spring, male capercaillie flock to glades or meadows, which do not change year after year and serve as their so-called current. On the leks, wood grouses attract females by singing, males fight with each other, find out which of them is the strongest. The “melody” of current males is almost always the same: first, the capercaillie makes clicks, and then a sound that is somewhat similar to hissing. At the same time, he spreads his wings a little, fluffs his tail and stretches his neck. After some time, females arrive at the current. For each female, especially if there are few of them, serious fights take place, in which the weaker one can even die from wounds.

The current at capercaillie begins early in the morning, a few hours before dawn. But some males are waiting for this event so much that they will fly to the lekking the day before it starts.

But capercaillie females can also feel a shortage of “cavaliers” due to poaching, diseases, etc. Then the females are forced to fly to the lek to the black grouse and mate with him. As a result of these connections, a mixture of black grouse and capercaillie is born - mezhnyak. Mezhnyaks can be similar to capercaillie and black grouse. It all depends on who the female was. If the female was a capercaillie, then the mezhnyak looks like a capercaillie. Mezhnyaks live in exactly the same way as the rest of the grouse, only they cannot give birth because of, so to speak, mixing of blood. Just like a mix hare hare with hare, the cuff hare does not have the ability to reproduce. But despite this, mezhnyaks still fly to the current, but only in order to fight, and also in every possible way to prevent pairs from mating. Therefore, in a sense, the mezhnyak is a harmful animal.

If the mating was successful, then the female begins to build a nest for herself. Usually capercaillie nests are located near the current (1-1.5 km). The nest is a small hole lined with twigs, grass, moss, feathers. The nest is very well camouflaged and protected from rain. After some time, from 6 to 12 yellow-red eggs with small dark specks appear in the nest, which the female lays within a few days. Incubation of eggs lasts from 3 to 4 weeks.

Males do not participate in incubation of chicks, as they have a molting period. At this time they are afraid of everything and hide in the darkest wilderness of the forest.

Hatched capercaillie chicks develop very quickly. The female takes them to a safe place almost immediately after they are born. If the first days of life they are next to their mother, fleeing from the rain and cold under her wing, then after a few days they can already camouflage well in the grass. They will hide so that not every hunting dog can detect them.

The mother heroically protects her offspring, and often deceives those who like to eat chicks (martens, foxes, etc.), pretending to be wounded. While she diverts attention to herself, the chicks will already have time to hide. But despite all the efforts of the mother, some of the little capercaillie still die, not surviving until autumn. They fall prey to predators or disease.

About two weeks after birth, the chicks can fly short distances. And after a month they fly just like adults.

By autumn, the brood breaks up, all the males leave the mother, and the females stay with her for some time.

In severe frosts, they do not get out of their “lairs” for whole days, only if they fly out for a few minutes to have lunch. Despite their good hearing, capercaillie often fall prey to foxes, predators of the marten family, etc. in their snowy shelters. But usually they hear the approach of animals and fly up a tree in advance.

Capercaillie always lived with us. There is enough space and food for him in the taiga. He is not afraid of frost. Sleeping in the snow. And sleeping in the snow is warm for a capercaillie, like a person in a good plague.

In the spring from the warm side a lot flew into the taiga different birds. The black grouse flew with them. In the taiga, a black grouse met a capercaillie. We made friends. Lived through the summer. In the fall, the black grouse was about to fly back to the warm land.

The capercaillie said to him:
- You live far away. You will have to fly for a long time. Do not suffer. Do not rub calluses under the wings. Stay here. We will live in the taiga.
- No, I will not stay in the taiga. I'm afraid of the cold. In winter, I'll freeze here and starve to death. There is nothing to eat here in winter. I will fly to warmer climes.

The grouse replies:
- When the cold comes, I will teach you to burrow into the snow. It's warm to sleep in the snow. I sleep and don't get cold. You won't go hungry either. We have enough food.

In winter we will eat needles and tree buds. In the spring, when the snow begins to melt, there are a lot of old lingonberries and bearberries. Stay. Live here. We will have more fun in the winter together. We will live together.

The black grouse believed the capercaillie and agreed to stay in the taiga for the winter.
Snow. Big frosts have come. The grouse began to freeze.
“I’ll perish here from the cold,” he said to the capercaillie. - You stay alone in the taiga. I will fly.
- No, I won't let you go! .. We will live together - winter the winter, get food.
The capercaillie grabbed the grouse's tail with its paws and held it so tightly that the feathers of the tail turned to the sides of the grouse.
The grouse could not escape. He remained in the taiga, but wept so much for his land that his eyebrows reddened from tears. Look at his eyebrows - they are red now.
That's how it was.

The capercaillie is considered the largest and noblest bird of all birds of the black grouse breed. It is distinguished by its clumsiness, heaviness and shyness, quick gait and heavy and noisy flight. This bird is not capable of flying long distances. The forests of North Asia were the habitat of capercaillie.

But excessive hunting for them has done its job in many regions, in which there used to be a lot of capercaillie, now you can not see a single one. Birds have now settled in, but in Europe they are now less and less, and in countries, Africa and Australia, in places where there used to be a lot of them, they are completely absent.

Capercaillie majestic and beautiful bird. It feels strong and resilient. Capercaillie Description has a beautiful color, most often a beak raised up, a magnificent, fan-like tail makes you involuntarily admire this spectacle.

A certain clumsiness complements the image and gives it some charm. When searching for food, capercaillie can move very quickly. When it takes off from the ground in flight, a noise and a loud flutter of its wings are heard.

Capercaillie flies heavily and noisily. Without special need, he does not overcome long distances and does not rise too high. Basically, its flight occurs at a height of half the average tree. But if there is a need and the capercaillie needs to move significantly, then it rises to fly high above the forest.

The male capercaillie can be easily distinguished from the female due to the color of the plumage. The males are dominated by gray, dark blue and richer tones of color, while the female is characterized by a red, variegated plumage color. You can admire them endlessly, they are so beautiful and majestic.

Features and habitat of the capercaillie

forest bird prefers tall conifers, as well as mixed ones. You can rarely find them in deciduous. The swampy area, full of various wild berries, is one of the favorite habitats of the capercaillie.

In general, capercaillie prefer to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Very rarely there are seasonal movements from the forest to the valley and back, it happens mainly in severe frosts. Capercaillie's nest can be seen immediately under a tree, not far from roads or paths.

Such negligence often leads to the death of their brood and even the female at the hands of a person. The female capercaillie is a beautiful and real mother, even if she feels danger for herself, she will never leave her offspring, but will die with him. There were cases when she went towards danger, right into the hands of the enemy, giving this act the opportunity for the chicks to hide.

The nature and lifestyle of the capercaillie

Capercaillie is very cautious, with perfect hearing and vision,. Therefore, it is not very easy to hunt him. It can behave aggressively if it sees an unfamiliar animal next to it. There were cases when the capercaillie attacked the dog.

Gathering places for capercaillie rarely change. As a rule, the males flock to them first, climb the branches and begin to sing their serenades for the females. Some time passes, the females will join them. After that, the most interesting thing begins - the struggle for females. Fights are very serious and cruel, after which the winner gets the right to mate with the female.

Basically, this bird prefers loneliness, large clusters are not for them. Morning and evening are their waking hours. During the daytime, they most often rest in the trees.

In the winter season, when it is very cold outside, the capercaillie can hide from the frost in the snow and be there for a couple of days. Black grouse and capercaillie birds very similar in their behavior and way of life, it is not for nothing that they belong to one large family. They differ only in size and color.

Male capercaillie with females

Capercaillie nutrition

Capercaillie are big fans of coniferous cones and twigs. If this delicacy is not next to them, flowers, buds, leaves, grass and various seeds are perfectly used. Chicks, during their growth, can eat insects and spiders, for this the whole family settles next to the anthill.

Adult capercaillie prefer plant foods. In winter, when everything around is covered with snow, these birds spend most of their time on trees, while feeding on their branches and bark.

Reproduction and life expectancy of capercaillie

About the capercaillie bird they are said to be polygamous. The concept of pairing is completely absent for them. Spring is a favorable time for the mating season. Mating between a female and a male lasts about a month.

Capercaillie nest with chicks

After that, capercaillie prepare nests for their future offspring. These birds do not particularly bother about the construction of nests. The capercaillie nest is an ordinary small depression in the ground, covered with branches or leaves.

The average number of eggs is 8 pieces, resembling the average in size egg. The females incubate them for about a month. The chick can follow its mother as soon as it dries after birth.

The fluff of newborn chicks is clearly not enough to keep them warm and comfortable, so this issue is dealt with by a caring mother who is ready to give all her warmth to the chicks.

A month is enough for the rapid growth and development of chicks. After this time, they move from the nest to the trees and begin their independent life.

Almost 80% of the eggs die due to severe frosts or from predators, in the form of a fox, marten or ermine. 40-50% of hatched chicks suffer a similar fate. The average lifespan of a capercaillie in its normal habitat is 12 years.

Why is the bird called capercaillie

An interesting fact is that the capercaillie temporarily loses its hearing during its mating, which is where their name comes from. How does it happen that a rather cautious bird always loses its hearing, and, accordingly, its vigilance?

Opinions differ on this matter. Some argue that while singing their serenades, the capercaillie strongly uses its upper and lower parts of its beak. Singing attracts the bird to such an extent that he temporarily forgets about everything, including danger.

Others say that in an excited capercaillie, blood rushes to the head, blood vessels swell and the auditory canals overlap. This version arose as a result of the fact that everyone sees how the upper part of the head swells in a singing, excited capercaillie.

There are versions that the capercaillie during the display stalls from nervous overexcitation. Buy capercaillie bird turns out not to be very easy. They are almost impossible to tame and make domestic. It breeds very poorly in captivity.

Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is one of the largest representatives of chicken, growing almost from a turkey. The weight of males ranges from 3.5 to 6.5 kg, females - from 1.7 to 2.3 kg.

The capercaillie is a large clumsy and shy bird. His gait is fast, while searching for food, he often runs on the ground. Capercaillie rises heavily from the ground, flapping its wings loudly and making a lot of noise.

Capercaillie lifestyle

Capercaillie flight heavy, noisy, almost direct and without extreme necessity of short duration. flies capercaillie usually above the forest itself or at the height of half a tree; only in autumn, making more significant movements, it keeps high above the forest. At capercaillie pronounced sexual dimorphism. Male capercaillie much larger than the female and differs sharply from her in plumage color. Unlike the gray female, it appears black from a distance, but in fact its head, neck, back and sides of the body are grayish-gray with a small dark streaked pattern. The goiter is black with a green metallic sheen. Belly capercaillie dark with large white spots or white with rare black-brown spots. capercaillie wings brown, black tail with white blurry spots and streaked pattern. In the female, the general coloration of the upperparts is yellowish-red in a transverse stripe, with brown and buffy tops of the feathers. Throat capercaillie buffy, goiter red, sometimes with mottled.

External view of the capercaillie

Male capercaillie it is painted in brown, black and dark gray tones, with white spots on the belly and on the underside of the wing, a powerful light beak. The female is brownish-red with black ripples. The current song of the capercaillie consists of two knees, the first of which resembles clicking with a fingernail on a box of matches (“clicking”) - “teke, teke, teke ...”, and the second is the creak of a knife on a sharpener (“skirting” or “turning”) - "di-ji-dz-ji-jie...". Clicking can last for several minutes, sharp - only 2-3 seconds. In the capercaillie of the Northwest, the song occasionally begins with a sound similar to the popping of a champagne bottle. Gluharki arrive at the current in the morning, their voice - a deaf "buk-buk" - is heard very rarely.

Capercaillie habitat

capercaillie inhabit both coniferous and mixed forests. Of conifers, pine forests are preferred. Summer capercaillie occurs singly, in winter - in small flocks.

common capercaillie very wide - from Scotland and the Pyrenees in the west to Transbaikalia and the middle reaches of the Lena River. northern border distribution of wood grouse in Russia it runs along 65-66 ° north latitude.

Wintering capercaillie

In most places capercaillie - almost settled bird; during the year it roams in a relatively small area. But at the northern border of distribution in Scandinavia, Karelia, on the Pechora and in the northern part of Siberia - capercaillie sometimes make significant flights. Flocks of capercaillie spend the winter in those places where there is a lot of food for them. Throughout the cold half of the year, they feed on pine or cedar needles, occasionally even spruce or juniper, and also willingly swallow green cones of cedar, juniper and mountain ash. Overnight stay capercaillie or in the crowns of dense trees (spruces, cedars, fir), or, if deep and soft snow has fallen, they burrow into it, like black grouse.

capercaillie food

Summer capercaillie feeds on grass, seeds, berries; in winter - pine needles, aspen and larch buds.

Capercaillie breeding

nests capercaillie both in coniferous and mixed forests. From coniferous forests, it prefers pine forests. It nests in swampy pine forests and in dry forests, while adhering to large massifs as old as possible. Avoids forest young growths and woodlands.

• Location of the capercaillie nest: nest located on the ground
• Nest building material: for nest lining capercaillie uses stems, branches
• The shape and size of the capercaillie nest: the nest is a small depression in the soil, sparsely lined with individual stems and branches or without them at all. Nest tray diameter exceeds 250mm
• Masonry features: masonry capercaillie most often from 6-8 eggs of yellowish-white color with brown streaks. Capercaillie eggs are similar in size to chicken eggs.
• Nesting dates for capercaillie: spring mating starts from the end of March and continues until the end of May. From mid May birds start incubating the eggs. Chicks appear in the second half of June. In August, there are already quite large juvenile birds.
• Economic importance: capercaillie- a valuable hunting species, although the commercial abundance has been preserved only in a few places. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, currents were known in the Moscow region, on which dozens of birds gathered, and individual capercaillie were found even in Izmailovsky Park. Now closer than 100 km from Moscow capercaillie no. One of the reasons for the disappearance of the capercaillie was the increase in the number of wild boars, which destroy bird nests. In some places, capercaillie are now bred in captivity for delivery to those places where they are exterminated.
• At capercaillie it in the auditory canal has a special lobe, or fold, abundantly supplied with blood vessels. During the display, in particular at the moment of skirking, this blade fills with blood and swells so much that when the capercaillie, opening its mouth while singing, presses it with one of the bones of the skull, it completely closes the ear canal
• When meeting a person capercaillie trying to take him away from the brood
• Capercaillie belongs to the valuable game birds. It is mined with a gun on currents, with hunting dogs, huskies, sometimes on pebble banks of rivers, where capercaillie in autumn it flies in places in large numbers for pebbles. In addition, in the fall, capercaillie is also caught by samolov - slops and loops.

We present you interesting facts about capercaillie.

Capercaillie looks for food mainly on the ground, and if you have to fly, then it turns out to be quite difficult for him. This is due to the weight of the capercaillie, although the female capercaillie weighs much less than the male. Males grow up to 6 kg, and females up to 2 kg. Therefore, females are more nimble, although this bird is considered a little shy and slightly clumsy.

By appearance the male is superior to the female, as it has a very beautiful plumage of black, gray, white, brown feathers. The female capercaillie is small with gray and red plumage.

This coloration of males allows them to compete with each other in choosing a female. They have a very beautiful goiter, which shimmers in black and green.

The name "grouse" comes from the structure of the auditory system of this bird. He loses his hearing only for a while, this happens during the lekking period, that is, during the performance of singing, when the capercaillie opens its beak, pressure occurs with one skull bone and the auditory canal closes. His deafness falls on the hands of hunters, since the bird does not hear the shots.

In summer, the capercaillie feeds on green grass, seeds, ripe berries, and in winter, aspen buds and pine needles. Despite the fact that capercaillie sit on trees, they build their nests on the ground from small twigs. The diameter of the nest is 25 cm.

The grouse lays up to 8 eggs in the nest, the eggs have brown spots on their surface. She hatches strictly by the day and exactly 24 days. Leaves the nest only early in the morning, in the middle of the day and in the evening.

The chicks hatch in mid-June and feed on very small insects, such as ants, during the first days of their lives. And also the chicks swallow small pebbles so that the stomach can grind the food entering it. They grow very quickly and fly well in a month.

If a capercaillie noticed a predator or a person, then she seeks to take him away from offspring. While the chicks are small, they hide under the wing of their mother at the first danger, and when they grow up a little, they hide in thick and tall grass, in which it is very difficult to find them, even for dogs.

In autumn, young males first separate from their mothers, and then females. Capercaillie hibernate in small flocks, and in severe frosts they hide in snowdrifts and come out only to eat. Before winter, capercaillie stock up on pebbles, because during this period of time the food is very hard and coarse, and they help the stomach digest food. If the capercaillie does not stock up on such pebbles, then it will die.

Since the capercaillie lives in nature in small numbers, it deserves great interest from a person for breeding it in zoos or nature reserves. Such a small number of capercaillie in nature is associated primarily with hunters, and secondly with the placement of nests.

Since the nests are located on the ground, there is a high probability of their ruin by other animals or during forest fires.

Other interesting facts about capercaillie can be found on the Internet.