Black Grouse Identification Guide

Key Field Marks

• Male ("blackcock") is glossy blue-black overall with a bright red wattle over the eye, a white wingbar, and white undertail coverts that flare conspicuously during display.
• The male's tail curves outward in a distinctive lyre shape, most obvious when fanned during courtship.
• Female ("greyhen") is cryptically mottled brown and buff, notably larger and bulkier than a female Red Grouse, with a shallowly forked tail visible in flight.
• Both sexes are large, heavy-bodied grouse with feathered legs.

Separating It From Similar Species

• Capercaillie is much larger and bulkier, with males showing a heavier build, a fan-shaped (not lyre-shaped) tail, and a more prominent beard of throat feathers.
• Red Grouse/Willow Ptarmigan lacks the lyre-shaped tail and white wingbar; males are rufous-brown rather than glossy black.
• Female Black Grouse is best separated from female Red Grouse by larger size, greyer tone, and a distinctly forked tail versus the Red Grouse's square tail.

Where and When to See It

• Found across northern and central Europe and temperate Asia, from Britain and Scandinavia east through Russia to parts of Central Asia and China.
• Inhabits moorland edges, heath, birch and pine forest margins, and transitional scrub between forest and open ground.
• Non-migratory; the best time to see displaying males is at dawn in spring, when they gather at traditional lek sites.

Voice and Behavior

• Displaying males at the lek produce a far-carrying, bubbling "rookooing" song interspersed with an explosive hissing "chuwish" sound, audible at considerable distance in still dawn air.
• Leks involve multiple males performing tail-fanning, wing-drooping, and jumping displays while competing for the attention of visiting females.
• Diet shifts seasonally, including buds, catkins, berries, and insects taken by chicks.