Capercaillie - description, habitat, interesting facts

The capercaillie is the largest pheasant bird in the family. A halo of its habitat is found throughout Eurasia. The bird got its unusual name from hunters because of “deafness” and indifference to the events around it during the current period. And for this main reason, it was easy to catch.

Capercaillie is a very beautiful, but difficult to fly bird. From the nearest relatives in the family it is distinguished by a majestic round-shaped tail of elongated feathers located near the throat. Females are comparatively smaller than males in size. If males reach a weight of 4 - 6.5 kg, then the female barely weighs 2.

The average body length of the bird is within 110 cm or more, and the wingspan can reach 1.5 m.

The plumage of the capercaillie also differs by sex. The male has black feathers on the head, front of the neck, as well as on the tail interspersed with white spots. The back of the neck is more grayish in color, and his body is black with brownish and grayish spots. Goiter and breast of the bird has a greenish tint. Brown plumage predominates on the wings more often. Above the eyes of the bird is a patch of bare skin with a reddish hue.

Females, unlike males, have a more inconspicuous color. In their motley plumage, they have rusty, reddish, green, black-brown and even pure white colors. Their almost pure bright red hue is found only in the throat area, on the bends of the wings, and also on the breast.

Diet

Habitat

Capercaillie are distinguished by their constancy in choosing their home. Very rarely they change it, flying away over long distances. During the day, the bird prefers to dwell on the ground, and after dark it gets over to the trees.

Until the 18th century, the capercaillie could be found everywhere throughout the Eurasian continent, but due to intensive hunting its abundance in nature gradually decreased, and in some countries it completely disappeared. For example, in the UK, where hunters exterminated them, capercaillie had to be specially brought from Sweden.

Common species

Capercaillie in the world there are only 16 subspecies that differ from each other only by a small difference in the color of their plumage. The most recognizable of them is the stone capercaillie.

The distribution halo of this species is in Siberia. Its plumage is predominantly black with a bluish tint, interspersed with white spots in the area of ​​the wings and tail, the breast has a greenish tint, and the beak is black. Female capercaillie have a darker color compared to ordinary representatives of the family. This species is much more cautious in comparison with other species, since it does not “stall” during currenting.

The main differences between the female and the male

It is very simple to distinguish a female from a male, since pronounced sexual dimorphism predominates in them. Females are noticeably smaller in size of males and have a much more motley color of their plumage interspersed with red, yellow and white feathers.Males, on the contrary, possess greater uniformity of color on their plumage, which may contain black, gray or brown shades.

Poultry breeding

The entire spring period for capercaillie is considered mating. They are polygamous birds, so sometimes a male can have an alliance not only with one female throughout her life. During this period, males begin to actively current. Even human hearing can catch their mating song, as it spreads well even at a distance of 500 meters. The female, in connection with her sound range, can hear singing from a distance 2 times larger than a person. During the performance of the mating song, which lasts throughout the day, the male makes clicking sounds and a kind of crackling, designed to attract the female. During his currenting, he scrubs feathers, throws his head back and, closing his eyes, becomes completely “deaf” to what is happening around. In the meantime, the females flock to his “call”.

The capercaillie does not change the place for its current. Annually at this time they flock to the same land, which is popularly known as currents. When females fly to sounds to the place of mating, males descend from branches to the bottom closer to them. During their mating games, males fight for female attention, sometimes how cruel that they reach the death of individual representatives of the species.

For the most part, active currenting lasts about a month, after which the females begin to build a nest. The construction of birds is not particularly difficult, since the nest is usually a recess dug in the ground. Covered on top with pieces of grass of leaves, twigs or feathers, it can be under a tree or even close to the road. The laid-off number of eggs depends on the age of the female, and outwardly resembles a small chicken in size. If the female is young, then in the nest there can be about 5-8 eggs, and in an older individual - about 12-16. The eggs themselves are painted in grayish-yellow colors with a splash of brown and gray. Only the female incubates her offspring, and the incubation period in eggs is from 25 to 28 days. Nestlings are not born completely helpless creatures, since immediately after their birth and drying the cannon can immediately follow their parent. Of course, little chicks still have little fluff to warm themselves, but a caring mother will always be there and share her warmth. She carefully protects her offspring. There were times when a female, saving her chicks, rushed to meet the danger, only in order to hide in a safe place.

The young growth itself grows very quickly. Just two weeks after their birth, the chicks are able to fly small distances on their own, and after a month they already climb onto tree branches and can begin to lead an independent life. For this reason, if the female dies, the chicks have a chance of survival.

With the onset of the autumn period, all grown males leave their mother, and young females remain with her for some time.

Interesting Facts

1. During the 18-19 centuries, due to the peculiarities of its behavior in the spring mating season, the capercaillie has become a favorite fishing and sporting and hunting prey. There were not rare cases when, during his mating singing, the male did not hear the sounds of the first shots and allowed the person to come very close to him.
2. Capercaillie can give joint offspring with their closest relatives in the black grouse family. Chicks from such an alliance are called "drafts."
3. In winter, they prefer to form small flocks and live on trees, but in severe frosts they can fall directly on the snow and make their nesting chamber in it, flying only for feeding.
4. Capercaillie before the onset of winter is stocked with pebbles.Due to the peculiarities of its nutrition in the winter, when the bird switches to roughage, such stones help the stomach. Otherwise, it may die.

Video: capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)