Black grouse belongs to the Pheasant (Phasianidae) family. It lives in the forest and forest-steppe zone of the Palearctic. This is the name of the biogeographic region, which includes Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas and Africa to the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. Black grouses are found almost throughout Russia, including Yamal.
This bird can lead both a sedentary and a nomadic way of life. It settles mainly along the edge of the forest, in the valleys of large rivers, and in the steppe zone.
The museum collection houses a stuffed male black grouse — a blackcock. It is a relatively large bird with a small head and short beak. Its body length can be from 50 to 70 centimeters, the wingspan is from 80 to 90 centimeters. An adult blackcock weighs about 1.2 kilograms in spring, and up to 1.3 in autumn, but sometimes there are individuals weighing up to 1.6 kilograms.
Black grouse is easily recognizable by its shiny black plumage with a purple or green tint on the head, neck, goiter and lower back, as well as by its bright red eyebrows. The back part of the male’s abdomen is brown, and the tail is contrasting white.
The blackcock’s tail feathers are black with a purple tint on top, and the outer ones are strongly bent to the sides, which is why the tail is shaped like a lyre.
The black grouse usually lives on the ground, and moves like a domestic chicken: runs quickly and easily, takes off almost vertically. It tries to avoid open spaces, preferring dense thickets. In the cold season, the black grouse stays up in the trees, where it feeds. It moves deftly even on thin branches that can barely support its weight.
The bird’s diet consists almost entirely of plant food. The black grouse eats the end of shoots, buds and catkins of birches, young pine cones and needles, in autumn it eats berries as well.
The black grouse is active in the early morning and in the evening, before sunset. When it is not the breeding season, especially in winter colds, the birds try to keep in flocks. After dusk, they hide under the snow, making a tunnel there with a chamber at the end. In severe frosts, the birds are able to spend up to 23 hours a day in this snow chamber, getting out only once to eat.
Black grouses are polygamous: there are several females for one male. With the beginning of spring, the males gather together in open places — lekking grounds, — surrounded by forest or thickets of bushes. Here they divide the territory and begin to bell: they sing a mating song, take off for a short time, jump, sometimes they fight.
While singing, the blackcocks mutter loudly and for a long time and emit a loud hissing sound of two syllables “chukhkh-xhy” with an increase in tone at the end. At other times of the year, these birds are just as talkative. As a rule, they are silent during the peak of summer molt and in the middle of winter. In case of danger, the males emit a muffled cry, and if they have no opportunity to hide, they hiss loudly.
This bird can lead both a sedentary and a nomadic way of life. It settles mainly along the edge of the forest, in the valleys of large rivers, and in the steppe zone.
The museum collection houses a stuffed male black grouse — a blackcock. It is a relatively large bird with a small head and short beak. Its body length can be from 50 to 70 centimeters, the wingspan is from 80 to 90 centimeters. An adult blackcock weighs about 1.2 kilograms in spring, and up to 1.3 in autumn, but sometimes there are individuals weighing up to 1.6 kilograms.
Black grouse is easily recognizable by its shiny black plumage with a purple or green tint on the head, neck, goiter and lower back, as well as by its bright red eyebrows. The back part of the male’s abdomen is brown, and the tail is contrasting white.
The blackcock’s tail feathers are black with a purple tint on top, and the outer ones are strongly bent to the sides, which is why the tail is shaped like a lyre.
The black grouse usually lives on the ground, and moves like a domestic chicken: runs quickly and easily, takes off almost vertically. It tries to avoid open spaces, preferring dense thickets. In the cold season, the black grouse stays up in the trees, where it feeds. It moves deftly even on thin branches that can barely support its weight.
The bird’s diet consists almost entirely of plant food. The black grouse eats the end of shoots, buds and catkins of birches, young pine cones and needles, in autumn it eats berries as well.
The black grouse is active in the early morning and in the evening, before sunset. When it is not the breeding season, especially in winter colds, the birds try to keep in flocks. After dusk, they hide under the snow, making a tunnel there with a chamber at the end. In severe frosts, the birds are able to spend up to 23 hours a day in this snow chamber, getting out only once to eat.
Black grouses are polygamous: there are several females for one male. With the beginning of spring, the males gather together in open places — lekking grounds, — surrounded by forest or thickets of bushes. Here they divide the territory and begin to bell: they sing a mating song, take off for a short time, jump, sometimes they fight.
While singing, the blackcocks mutter loudly and for a long time and emit a loud hissing sound of two syllables “chukhkh-xhy” with an increase in tone at the end. At other times of the year, these birds are just as talkative. As a rule, they are silent during the peak of summer molt and in the middle of winter. In case of danger, the males emit a muffled cry, and if they have no opportunity to hide, they hiss loudly.
