Capercaillie vulgaris: description, photo

Wood grouse is one of the largest birds that live in forests. Its weight reaches 5 kg. An ordinary wood grouse has several folk names: a moss, a deaf black grouse, a hawk. This bird is from the family of pheasant (a group of chickens).

A little bit about the species of wood grouses

An ordinary capercaillie is a representative of one of the largest species of feathered game. The species of common capercaillie is divided into 3 subspecies: capercaillie belohryuhiy, inhabiting the eastern and central regions of Russia; The dark taiga, inhabiting the eastern and northern regions of the country; Western European black-bellied (in the forests of the western territories of the country).

Common wood: photo, description

The grouse is the largest bird from the grouse (subfamily).

From other representatives, he has a tail, much rounded, and unusual lengthened feathers on his throat.

The plumage of the capercaillie is dark with a metallic tinge, a bright red eyebrow, feathers under the beak are like a "beard." Female wood grouse painted more variegated (a mixture of rusty-yellow, rusty-brown, rusty-red and white flowers). And her throat, part of the chest upper and part of the wing have a rusty red color.

An ordinary bird is a bird, the sizes of which are very different in males and females. Males reach 110 cm or more, their wings have a span of 1.4 m. Females are much smaller - by 1/3. Male head blackish. Neck on the back side ashy-gray with spots of black color, with front - gray-black. Color of back blackish with spots gray and brown. The breast has a greenish-steel color, its lower side is covered with white and black spots. The tail is black with patches of white, the wings are brown. The beak has a white-pink color.

Distribution, dwelling

Inhabitant common wood common usually in coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests of Eurasia.

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

Once upon a time, woodsworms were found in all the forests of Eurasia, in the east of Siberia to the Transbaikal (western part). In the 18-20th centuries, the number and habitat of the capercaillie greatly decreased, and in places these birds even disappeared. By the mid-18th century in the United Kingdom, these birds were completely exterminated. But later, in 1837, the common wood grouse was again brought there from Sweden and perfectly took root.

On the Russian territories, due to the cutting down of numerous forests, the populations of wood grouse began to retreat to the northern part of the country, and in some southern regions in their forest zones (Tula, Voronezh, Kurskaya, etc.) these birds completely disappeared. In addition to Russia and Sweden, wood grouses can also be found in Greece, Spain, the Alps, the Carpathians, in Asia Minor and the Middle German mountains.

Prefers the wood grouse deaf places in the woods.

Characteristic for this bird is springing, occurring mostly on trees. A number of peculiar features have an ordinary wood grouse.

Description of behavior and habits

In the summer, moults are observed in the wood grouse. At this time, they fly to especially dense forest tracts.

In such a period, these birds have peculiar behavior: they periodically raise their tail and lower it, raise their head and throw them, while slowly moving along the branch.

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

An ordinary grouse periodically appears in mixed and deciduous forests. They love these birds and moss bogs, which are rich in various berries.

The bird flies heavily, noisily, often flapping its wings loudly, and basically makes small flights.

Daytime, the wood grouse spends on the ground, and spends the night on the branches of the trees. Sometimes it is overly aggressive when other animals appear. It is known that sometimes a wood grouse tried to attack dogs and other domestic small animals (stories of Norwegians).

The wood grouse is pretty cautious, has excellent hearing and good eyesight. Therefore, hunting for it is considered difficult.

Offspring

The main concern for the offspring lies with the female. The nest she arranges on the ground, more often under the shelter of bushes or fallen trees, where in the future she lays eggs. Full masonry usually consists of about 5-16 eggs.

The female itself incubates eggs. She also continues to care for hatched chicks: heats, protects from predators.

Food

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

Conclusion

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

An ordinary grouse is included in the Red Book of Russia and the Tula region. This must be remembered by everyone who enjoys hunting.

For further specification of the number, concentration and status of this bird on the territory of Russia, detailed and lengthy studies are needed.