Black Grouse
Lyrurus tetrix
Male black grouse gather at dawn in traditional arenas called 'leks' to perform theatrical displays, inflating their necks and fluttering their wings to attract females.
- Scientific name
- Lyrurus tetrix
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Galliformes › Phasianidae › Lyrurus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Open birch and pine woodlands, moorlands, heathlands, and peat bogs
- Diet
- Herbivorous, feeding on birch buds, catkins, pine needles, heather shoots, and berries; chicks also eat insects.
- Range
- United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Central Europe, Russia, Mongolia
- Size
- Length of 45-60 cm; wingspan of 65-80 cm; weight of 750-1400 grams.
- Lifespan
- 5-7 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, loss of heathlands to intensive forestry or agriculture, and disturbance from outdoor recreation.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Maintain a safe distance of at least 50-100 meters, especially during the spring lekking season. Use binoculars or hide in a blind to observe, as they are easily startled. If you flush a bird, remain still and allow it to fly away undisturbed.
The black grouse ( Lyrurus tetrix ), also known as northern black grouse , Eurasian black grouse , blackgame or blackcock , is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and steppe habitat when breeding, often near wooded areas. They will spend the winter perched in dense forests, feeding almost exclusively on the needles of conifers. The black grouse is one of two species of grouse in the genus...
Photo: Анна Васильченко, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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