Field Guide
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Black Grouse
Lyrurus tetrix
Not yet photographed by the community
Males have lyre-shaped tail; bubbling lek display at dawn.
Species Profile
Red List (Birds of Conservation Concern)
- Lifespan
- 8–10 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 40–55 cm, wingspan 65–80 cm; males 900–1,100 g, females 700–900 g
- Habitat
- Open moorland, heathland, and upland areas with scattered birch and conifer woodland, typically above 300 m elevation.
- UK Distribution
- Resident breeder in upland regions of northern England, Scotland, and Wales; populations have declined significantly and are now concentrated in the Scottish Highlands and Pennines.
- Diet
- Herbivorous; feeds on bilberry, heather, pine shoots, and buds; chicks eat insects initially before switching to plant matter.
- Predators
- Golden eagles, hen harriers, red foxes, stoats, and corvids (crows and ravens); eggs and chicks vulnerable to crows and foxes.
- Mating Season
- March to May
- Breeding
- Clutch of 6–10 eggs, incubation period 24–26 days, one brood per year; females alone incubate and rear chicks.
- Behaviour
- Males are highly territorial and perform elaborate dawn display flights ('lek') with distinctive wing clapping and vocalizations. Females are solitary and cryptically coloured; males are striking with jet-black plumage and lyre-shaped tail feathers. Gregarious in winter, forming small flocks.
- •Male black grouse produce a distinctive mechanical 'whip-crack' sound during flight displays by snapping their tail feathers together.
- •Leks are traditional display grounds used year after year, sometimes for decades, passed down through generations.
- •The UK population has declined by over 90% in the past 50 years due to habitat loss and land management changes.
- •Males have iridescent blue-black plumage and prominent white undertail coverts, whereas females are mottled brown and easily confused with red grouse.
- •Black grouse are closely related to capercaillie and are part of the grouse family (Phasianidae).
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