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Grouse-grouse is a widespread species of birds; it is considered to be a pheasant family. This is a large-sized bird belonging to the order of chickens. He prefers to live black grouse mainly in forests, but is also found in steppes and forest-steppe bands. On the Eurasian continent, the largest populations of this bird are on the territory of Russia, but it is also found in the provinces of China located in the north-east of the country. Another black grouse can be seen in the western part of Mongolia, as well as in the north of Kazakhstan.
In its genus, black grouse forms its own species, representatives of which are found in the northern part of Britain and on the Scandinavian Peninsula. In the European part of the continent, the black grouse-Kosach can be found throughout the European part of the Russian Federation, excluding only the Caucasus. In addition to Belarus and the Baltic states, where Kosach is found in abundance, it can be found in Poland and Ukraine, as well as in Germany.
External characteristics
The female, whose length reaches 45 centimeters, is much smaller than the male, her weight does not exceed 1100 grams. The male in its length reaches 58 centimeters, and its weight is 1400 grams. These birds have noticeable signs of sexual dimorphism, which manifests itself in different colors of the feather cover of females and males.
Females of this species of birds are called teters; their plumage looks quite motley. The brownish-brown feathers of these birds are crossed across by strips consisting of black, brown, and dirty yellow tones. The distinctive arcs above the eyes of the teters are not very pronounced, their tail, in comparison with the males, has smaller sizes and the usual shape.
Young growth of this species also has a colorful plumage, reminiscent of the coloring of females, but differs somewhat in the nature of the pattern and color scheme. On the outfit, spots and stripes of white, black, brown and brown colors are arranged in a chaotic order.
Mating season of a black grouse
Grouse mating season begins with the onset of spring. In March, when the first warm rays of the sun begin to warm the thawed earth, males gather from all sides on currents - forest edges or open glades. The first act of theatrical action begins with the fact that they sit on the branches of neighboring trees and begin to produce non-melodic sounds like mumbling.
With the advent of April, the nature of actions on currents begins to change. The cries of males become more aggressive, the tension reaches its limit, and the first opponents begin to descend to the ground.Here, below, the matter takes on a more active character, the males show their tail in front of each other, stretch their necks, make intermittent sounds, sometimes flap their wings, demonstrating their courage. More impudent screamers pursue cowardly rivals, not hiding their superiority. The active phase of the clarification of relations can be interrupted by a sudden deterioration in the weather, but as soon as the sun reappears, actions on currents flare up with renewed vigor.
After some time, the females begin to gather for noise coming from the currents, giving a signal to the males about the beginning of ritual fights. In style, the confrontation of males is reminiscent of cockfights, but with the difference that they are conducted in almost non-contact form and the losers do not suffer from wounds.
Grouse males are characterized by polygamous predilections; they establish relationships with several females at once. Each of them takes on the current site their platform, which invites females, and tirelessly cares about the inviolability of borders.
After mating, the males leave the females, leaving them with all the further chores associated with the breeding of offspring. The female is engaged in the device of the nest, hatching of masonry and raising chicks independently.
Nesting and rearing chicks
Females build their nests not far from the former current carcass, flying over an area of one square kilometer. They make a neat depression in the soil, which is lined with dry grass and covered with feathers. It turns out a round nest, the radius of which is about 20 centimeters. Teterki carefully mask their nests, hiding them in the plexus of a bush or in tall grass under trees.
From 5 to 13 eggs can be found in the masonry, and the incubation period lasts up to 25 days. If the nest was opened by a predator, and the clutch was lost, the female has the ability to lay the clutch again, although the number of eggs in this case is halved. Chicks are born in the second half of June, having dried for several hours, they rise and do not lag behind their mother. The grouse hides the chicks from the night cool under the cover of their plumage.
The period of greatest risk for chicks occurs in the first 10 days of their life. This is a hectic time for a caring mother who does not take her eyes off her babies, carefully studying the sounds of the forest. In the event of a predator's invasion, she resorts to a well-developed trick - pretending to be wounded, the bird tries to take the stranger as far as possible, and then quietly flies away. Hearing the mother’s alarm, the chicks start scattering and freeze, hiding in the grass. When the danger has passed, the brave mother gathers her brood using a new signal.
With the onset of autumn, the tail of males grows to the required length and acquires the characteristic shape of a lyre. Grouse-Kosach lives in nature until 13 years old, he is quite comfortable with a sedentary lifestyle, although if necessary he is able to fly.
Grouse prefers a vegetarian diet, eating only plant foods, however, being a chick, eats insects with pleasure.
Video: grouse (Lyrurus tetrix)
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