About Lyrurus tetrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix, first described by Linnaeus in 1758) is a large bird with clear sexual dimorphism in size and plumage. Males measure roughly 60 centimetres (24 inches) in length and weigh 1,100–1,250 grams (2 pounds 7 ounces – 2 pounds 12 ounces), and may reach up to 2,100 grams (4 pounds 10 ounces). Females are approximately 45 cm (18 in) long, and weigh 750–1,100 g (1 pound 10 ounces – 2 pounds 7 ounces).
Male black grouse have predominantly black plumage with deep-blue hues on the neck and back. This plumage contrasts with a white wingline, white undertail coverts, and red bare skin above each eye. Females have much drabber, cryptic coloration that lets them blend easily into dense undergrowth, especially while nesting. Along with the Caucasian grouse, black grouse have long outer tail feathers (rectrices) that curl outward, arranged to resemble the frame of a Greek lyre. This shape gives the genus its name, Lyrurus.
Black grouse are found across open habitats in Eurasia. Their European range extends from Great Britain through Scandinavia, Estonia, and across Russia. It is believed they once lived in Ireland, but they no longer occur there. In Eastern Europe, populations are found in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Romania, and Ukraine. A population exists in the Alps, with isolated remnant populations in Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The species formerly occurred in Denmark, but the Danish Ornithological Society (DOF) has considered it extinct in Denmark since 2001. Black grouse disappeared from Bulgaria in the 19th century. In Asia, a large share of the global population lives in Russia, particularly in southern Siberia. They also inhabit parts of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and possibly Korea.
Black grouse are adapted to a wide range of habitats across Eurasia. They most often use transition zones between forests and open clearings, especially steppe, heathland, grassland, and pasture near agricultural fields. Seasonal habitat and behavior vary: in winter, they form large flocks that stay in dense forests, feeding primarily on the leaves and buds of coniferous and broadleaf trees, including Scots pine, Siberian larch, silver birch, and Eurasian aspen. In spring and summer, they tend to prefer open spaces to find potential mates and raise their broods, switching their diet to berries, shoots, and stems from cranberries, bog bilberries, myrtleberries, and other Vaccinium shrubs. They do not live in the most extreme desert and polar regions.
