Grouse is a medium-sized bird belonging to the genus of chickens, the grouse family. They have a powerful beak, fly easily and quickly. Black grouse is a hunting and game bird, due to its wide distribution and large numbers.
External features of black grouse
At first glance, the black grouse is similar to a domestic chicken in the degree of plumage, the structure of the body, the ability to mow (only the male sings), and also because of the red eyebrows, reminiscent of the comb of a rooster. The body length of the black grouse does not exceed 70 centimeters, the weight is not more than one and a half kilograms. The female and the male are very different. First of all, this is manifested in their appearance:
- the size of the male is many times larger than the size of the female;
- the grouse has a variegated color, but less bright than that of the male;
- the presentation of the sounds of black grouse of different sex is different: in males the tone does not change throughout the year, while in the female in winter one singing, in spring - another, more sonorous.
Preferred habitats
The habitat of this bird species is predominantly forest: calm birch forests near the fields of bread, groves, river valleys. When the cold comes, they burrow into the snow and spend the night like that. They do not freeze due to their warm plumage.
Black grouse - birds living in groups. Even on mating, they gather together, despite the fact that they are hostile to each other because of the females.
Birds nest on the ground, mainly in soil pits, next to berries, so that the brood can feed immediately after birth. At the same time, the female, sensing the danger, leads the predators away from the nest with a distracting maneuver: both the offspring keeps, and the bird itself is safe, escaping on the branches of trees.
Winter food for black grouse - shoots, needles, catkins - branch food. In spring, the birds' diet increases: greenery, flowers. In autumn, black grouse exclusively feed on berries.
Habitat depending on the type of black grouse
The wormwood grouse lives near the Rocky Mountains in Turkmenistan, in places covered with black wormwood. Sometimes it migrates to the grass steppes for some time.
Grouse-capercaillie settles in coniferous forests.
The meadow grouse is a resident of North America. In winter, he settles near the farm fields to enjoy their property, as well as next to shrubs, hazels, rich in buds, and seeds. During mating, it changes its place to clearings, densely overgrown with grass.
Caucasian black grouse - lives in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey in the thickets of wild rose, rhododendron. It has a sedentary lifestyle and, due to its small number, is listed in the Red Book.
Black grouse (field) - lives on the edges, near rivers in Russia, Great Britain.
Many species of black grouse, such as the heather, have been destroyed by human activities. Several species are currently under protection to protect them from extinction.
