Capercaillie common: description, photo

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Capercaillie is one of the largest birds living in forests. Its mass reaches 5 kg. The common capercaillie has several popular names: flywheel, deaf black grouse, swindler. This bird belongs to the pheasant family (chicken order).

A little bit about capercaillie species

Common capercaillie is a representative of one of the largest species of game birds. The species of the common capercaillie is divided into 3 subspecies: the white-bellied capercaillie, which lives in the eastern and central regions of Russia; dark taiga, living in the eastern and northern regions of the country; Western European Black-bellied (in the forests of the western territories of the country).

Capercaillie common: photo, description

Capercaillie is the largest grouse bird (subfamily).

It differs from other representatives in its highly rounded tail and unusual elongated feathers on the throat.

The capercaillie's plumage is dark with a metallic tint, a bright red eyebrow, feathers under the beak look like a "beard". The female capercaillie is colored more variegated (a mixture of rusty yellow, rusty brown, rusty red and white). And her throat, part of the upper chest and part of the wing are rustyred.

The common capercaillie is a bird, the size of which differs greatly between males and females. Males reach 110 cm or more, their wingspan is 1.4 m. Females are much smaller - by 1/3. The head of the male is blackish. The back of the neck is ash-gray with black spots, the front is gray-black. The color of the back is blackish with spots of gray and brown. The chest is a greenish-steel color, its lower side is covered with white and black spots. The tail is black with white spots, the wings are brown. The beak is white-pink.

Distribution, habitation

The capercaillie usually lives in coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests of Eurasia.

Practically this bird leads a sedentary life, but it happens that sometimes it makes seasonal migrations.

A long time ago capercaillie were found in all the forests of Eurasia, in the east of Siberia to the very Transbaikalia (western part). In the 18th-20th centuries, the number and habitat of the capercaillie greatly decreased, and in some places these birds even disappeared. By the middle of the 18th century in Great Britain, these birds were completely exterminated. But later, in 1837, the capercaillie was again brought there from Sweden and took root perfectly.

In Russian territories, due to the clearing of numerous forests, capercaillie populations began to retreat to the northern part of the country, and in some southern regions in their forest zones (Tula, Voronezh, Kursk, etc.) these birds disappeared completely. In addition to Russia and Sweden, capercaillie alsocan be found in Greece, Spain, the Alps, the Carpathians, Asia Minor and the Middle German mountains.

The wood grouse prefers more remote places in the forests.

Typical for this bird is spring lekking, which occurs mostly on trees. Capercaillie has many peculiar features.

Description of behavior and habits

In the summer, molting is observed in capercaillie. At this time, they fly into especially dense forest areas.

During this period, these birds have a peculiar behavior: they periodically raise their tail and lower it, they also raise and throw their heads, while slowly moving along the branch.

Usually the wood grouse at this time sings so enthusiastically that for a certain period it becomes deaf. Hence its name came from: capercaillie. The female, in turn, flies to the lek, where mating takes place, after which they leave it together and settle in the most remote and impassable places in the forest, where their molting takes place.

The wood grouse appears periodically in mixed and deciduous forests. These birds also love moss swamps, which are rich in a variety of berries.

The bird flies heavy, noisy, often loudly flapping its wings, and mostly makes small flights.

The capercaillie spends the daytime on the ground, and spends the night on the branches of trees. Sometimes he is overly aggressive when other animals appear. There are cases that sometimes the capercaillie tried to attack dogs and other domestic small animals (stories of residentsNorway).

The Capercaillie is quite cautious, has excellent hearing and good eyesight. Therefore, hunting for it is considered difficult.

Offspring

Main care for offspring falls on the female. She arranges a nest on the ground, often under the shelter of bushes or fallen trees, where she later lays her eggs. A full clutch usually consists of about 5-16 eggs.

The female incubates the eggs herself. She also continues to take care of the hatched chicks: warms, protects from predators.

Food

The main type of food for capercaillie in spring and summer is plant shoots, various flowers, tree buds, leaves, grass, forest berries, seeds and insects. In autumn, these birds feed mainly on larch needles, and in winter they are attracted by spruce and pine needles and buds. Chicks have a special diet: spiders and insects.

Conclusion

Common capercaillie is one of the most valuable objects of hunting. In this regard, in many areas of both Russia and other countries of the world, it has become a rather rare inhabitant, and somewhere it has completely disappeared, and now various measures are being taken to protect this species.

The wood grouse is listed in the Red Book of Russia and the Tula region. This should be remembered by everyone who is fond of hunting.

Detailed and lengthy studies are needed to further clarify the abundance, concentration and status of this bird in Russia.