Black grouse
A large Palearctic grouse with lyre-shaped tail and elaborate lek displays.
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The black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) is a large, sedentary bird found across the Palearctic. It breeds on moorland and steppe, often near woods, and winters in dense forests, where it feeds almost entirely on conifer needles. It is one of two species in the genus Lyrurus, alongside the Caucasian grouse.
Females are greyish-brown with a cackling or warbling call. As is typical for most galliforms, she alone handles nesting and chick-rearing. The species’ genome was sequenced in 2014.
Taxonomy and naming
Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus first described the black grouse in 1758, naming it Tetrao tetrix—both words from Ancient Greek for a type of game bird. It now belongs to the genus Lyrurus, introduced by English naturalist William Swainson in 1832. Folk names for males and females—blackcock and greyhen—first appeared in John Ray’s 1674 writings; heathcock and heathhen are also used.
Six subspecies are recognized, varying slightly in size and color, with larger birds found farther east. These include L. t. baikalensis (southeastern Siberia to northern Mongolia and northwestern Manchuria), L. t. britannicus (Scotland, Wales, northern England), L. t. mongolicus (eastern Kyrgyzstan, northwestern China, eastern Kazakhstan, south-central Siberia, western Mongolia), L. t. tetrix (Scandinavia to southern France, northern Italy, and northeastern Siberia), L. t. ussuriensis (eastern Siberia, northeastern China, northwest Korea), and L. t. viridanus (southeastern Russia to southwestern Siberia).
Description and appearance
Males measure about 60 cm long and weigh 1100–1250 g, occasionally up to 2100 g; females are roughly 45 cm and 750–1100 g. The cock’s plumage is mostly black with deep-blue on the neck and back, contrasting white wing-lines and undertail coverts, and red bare skin above each eye. Hens are drabber and cryptically colored for camouflage. Both the black grouse and Caucasian grouse have long outer tail feathers that curl outward, resembling a Greek lyre—hence the genus name Lyrurus.
Distribution and habitat
Black grouse inhabit open habitats across Europe, from Great Britain through Scandinavia, Estonia, and Russia. They once lived in Ireland but no longer do. Eastern European populations exist in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Romania, and Ukraine. There are populations in the Alps, plus isolated remnants in Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderGalliformes
- FamilyPhasianidae
- GenusLyrurus
- SpeciesLyrurus tetrix
Named by (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close relatives
Other species of Lyrurus with a Codexery entry.
- Caucasian grouse Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Black grouse (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 1562655 (CC BY 4.0)
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
- LC▲ this species
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.6 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Black grouse
Lore & Background
The black grouse was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 under the binomial name Tetrao tetrix, with both Tetrao and tetrix deriving from Ancient Greek words for game birds. It was later placed in the genus Lyrurus, introduced in 1832 by William Swainson, named for the lyre-like shape of its outer tail feathers. Folk names include blackcock for the male and greyhen for the female, first appearing in literature with John Ray in 1674; heathcock and heathhen are also common.
The male is predominantly black with deep-blue hues on the neck and back, contrasting white wingline and undertail coverts, and red bare skin above each eye. The female is greyish-brown and cryptically colored. Six recognized subspecies differ slightly in size and coloration, with birds increasing in size further east. The genome was sequenced in 2014.
Black grouse inhabit open habitats across Europe from Great Britain through Scandinavia and Russia, with populations in the Alps and isolated remnants in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. They formerly occurred in Denmark (considered extinct since 2001) and disappeared from Bulgaria in the 19th century. In Asia they are found across Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and possibly Korea. They utilize transition zones between forests and open clearings, overwintering in dense forests and feeding on conifer and broadleaf buds, switching to berries and shoots in spring and summer.
Reader's Guide
The black grouse is notable for its distinctive courtship ritual: each dawn in spring, males gather on traditional open ground called a lek, fanning their lyre-shaped tails and inflating their necks to compete for mates. Their song is a long, bubbling coo or murmur. In western Europe leks seldom contain more than 40 birds; in Russia up to 200 have been recorded. The female takes all responsibility for nesting and caring for chicks, laying 6–11 pale buff eggs speckled brown in a scraped nest lined with grasses and feathers, incubated for 23–28 days.
Though the species has declined throughout much of western Europe due to habitat loss, disturbance, and predation, it is not considered globally vulnerable due to its large population of 15–40 million individuals. The IUCN implemented a Black Grouse Action Plan 2007–2010. In the United Kingdom, black grouse are found in upland areas of north Wales, the Pennines and most of Scotland, with a reintroduction programme starting in 2003 in the Peak District.
In France, work has addressed the risk of birds flying into ski-lifts. From 1950 to 2000, local populations in Manchuria and northeastern China declined by about 39%, with habitat loss and excess hunting as contributing factors. The species can hybridize with several other galliforms where ranges overlap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the Black Grouse live and what does it eat?
It breeds on open moorland and steppe, often near woodland edges, then retreats into dense coniferous forests for the winter. In those cold months its diet is almost exclusively conifer needles.
How does the Black Grouse handle breeding and raising young?
The greyish-brown female, who calls with a distinctive cackling or warbling voice, is solely responsible for building the nest and rearing the chicks. Males concentrate their energy on performing the species' famous lek displays to attract a mate.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Black grouse (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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