In the very early spring, as soon as the snow begins to melt, black grouse begin to show activity on the edges. Of course, on the white snow, the males of this bird stand out as a bright spot - with bright mirror plumage and red eyebrows. Females are not so beautiful, but much wiser and more inventive than the male.
What is the name of a female black grouse?
Children can answer this question intricately: black grouse, black grouse. You can, of course, simply call her - a female black grouse. What is the name of this chicken-like bird? It is correct to call her a chick. In ancient times, it was called a grouse-grouse because of its external resemblance to a speckled chicken. Fishermen and hunters call her kopylukha.
In general, it's easiest to call her just a grouse. So we will write further in the article.
Kosach black grouse: handsome forest man
This is a special bird. He is remarkable and luxurious, dressed in a chic feather coat.
It can be easily recognized by its dark black plumage with a mirror shine. On the neck of the bird may begreen or purple overflow. The abdomen is brown in color. The tips of the tail feathers are gracefully curved. There are white feather inserts on the wings, red eyebrows above the eyes.
The black grouse is a real decoration of the forest expanses, but it is a real hunt. The meat of this bird is valued, and not the beautiful appearance. Every year fishermen exterminate entire flocks of these creatures. Experienced hunters, at least, do not touch the grouse, realizing that they may have a nest with chicks. Poachers, on the other hand, do not think about the defenseless brood of a chicken, they only care about the fact of capture.
Appearance of a grouse
What does a female black grouse look like? Unlike males, they are not so remarkable. A grouse is similar to a regular chicken, only it is much larger.
Its color is brown or beige, black and light longitudinal stripes of feathers are clearly visible in plumage. She seems to be striped, motley.
Also, a grouse can be confused with a female capercaillie. They are similar in size and plumage. The grouse has white "mirrors" on its wings, its undertail plumage is also white.
Chicks, both females and males, identical in appearance. They are bright and colorful. Their plumage contains brown, black, red, white and brown feathers.
A female black grouse can more professionally hide from hunters thanks to her nondescript plumage. She is almost invisible in the thick grass, where she will certainly run away from death.
Black grouse weddings
With the onset of early spring, black grouse begin to fill with songs - to lure and lure females to create a family. The black grouse coots and snorts for a few minutes, then calms down for a short time and begins to sing again.
The female black grouse cackles, teasing the suitors and inciting more and more passion in them. It is the grouse who chooses his grouse.
Males cooing and waiting for the grouse to separate them, each making their own choice. Females are not in a hurry to run to the suitors, they are playing for time until the last. During this time, the most persistent, and hence the strongest representatives of the bird flock are determined.
When the choice is made, the grouse will pair up and go to their territories. They stay together for a while before the hen lays her eggs. At this time, the male visits other grouse, which were left without a mate. The female black grouse has nothing against such trips, because they are polygamous birds.
When the eggs are in the nest, the black grouse leaves the area. Males again stray into one flock until the next season.
Teterka hatches clutch alone, protecting future chicks from encroachment of predators and other lovers of bird eggs.
Incubation and hatching of eggs
As already mentioned, males do not take part in the future fate of their offspring. The female black grouse arranges the nest herself, trying to build it in thick grass, thickets of nettles or junipers.
Usually a hen lays 6-8 eggs, which she takes care of for a month. Through25-30 days chicks hatch, but they are not the same as ordinary chicks. After a few hours, they leave the nest and follow their mother everywhere.
During the first ten days of the life of the chicks, the female black grouse does not take her eyes off them. At this time, she herself is in the greatest danger.
Chicks can't fly yet, they can't feel the danger themselves and defend themselves. And danger lies in wait for them at every turn. They are threatened not only by hunters, but also by wild animals.
If the mother hen felt danger, she immediately emits a loud cry, similar to both clucking and the roar of a wounded individual at the same time. The chicks know what this means: run away, hide in the grass and sit quietly!
The female black grouse herself pretends to be wounded and takes the dangerous representative of the outside world away from her babies.
The next time you hunt black grouse and see a wounded grouse, think about it, maybe she's just leading you away from her nest. Do not touch this bird, because without it, the chicks may die.
Teterok and grouse cubs live inseparably, even when the chicks begin to fly. After ten days, they begin to jump, flit, and after a month they completely take to the wing.
A female black grouse takes her children out to get acquainted with the whole flock only closer to wintering.
Wintering and feeding of black grouse
Birds winter mostly on the ground too. During the day they can sit on the branches of trees, but with the onset of dusk they will dive into the snowdrifts, burrowing deeper into the holes. If a blizzard breaks out, then in these "lairs"they can live for several days.
Chicks of black grouse feed on insects, and when they grow up, they switch to a vegetarian menu. Their meals include a variety of herbs and roots, the soft tops of shrubs.
In summer and autumn, when berries appear in the forest, black grouse feast on them too. Also, clover petals and flowers are used for food, and cereals can be obtained near the sowing fields: wheat, millet.
The winter diet is not so diverse, you have to survive the cold on a poor diet and fat reserves from the summer. In the winter forest, they feed on young shoots of trees and shrubs, catkins and birch buds, berries left on the trees, needles, willow and alder buds, young cones of coniferous trees.
