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The Capercaillie - Tetrao urogallus
The capercaillie is a cousin of the black grouse and is found in the Highlands of Scotland. The male can reach up to thirty-five inches in length and weigh around twelve pounds. The female is much smaller and less than half the weight.
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“During the 1980's and 1990's there was a dramatic decline in the number of Capercaillie in Scotland. This has continued into the 21st Century and at their lowest Capercaillie numbers dropped below 1,000 individuals.
This project is aimed at improving the breeding success of the Scottish Capercaillie thus reversing the recent decline in numbers.”
Capercaillie Life Project
Capercaillie Fun Fact - The capercaillie is known as The Old Man Of The Woods in its native Scotland.
The male capercaillie has black plumage with an iridescent blue and green gizzard and dark reddish-brown wings. There is a red circle around the eyes. His crop has a small feather plume.
The female is not as showy in appearance, and draws excellent camouflage with her brown feathers and black and white barring.
The capercaillie prefers mature Scots pine forests with an undergrowth of heather, blaeberry and crowberry. It eats seeds, berries, worms, insects in summer, and pine shoots in the winter.
The capercaillie uses a variety of courtship techniques. They may gather in large groups to display. The display area is called a lek. The most striking feature of the display is the clicking and croaking sound made by the males. The male is polygamous and may have up to ten mates. The hen lays five to eight eggs in a shallow scrape on the forest floor in early May. The eggs hatch by early June.
The chicks are at a distinct disadvantage for the first four to six weeks, as they cannot thermo-regulate - cannot control their own body temperature. The chicks will be able to perform their first short flights at around three to four weeks. The juvenile will moult at around three months for a second time, after which the sub-adult plumage will be visible. The two sexes are then easier to distinguish.
The current status of the capercaillie is precarious. It is a vulnerable species, and the mortality rates amongst chicks is high during cold and wet summers. Its numbers peaked to around twenty thousand birds in the 1970’s. The population has since fallen to under one thousand. If the rate of decline was to continue, it is estimated that the species will become extinct by the year 2010.
