Black grouse

Black grouse
Male
Bird recorded in Fife, Scotland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Lyrurus
Species:
L. tetrix
Binomial name
Lyrurus tetrix
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Distribution of black grouse globally
Black grouse range[2]
Close up of distribution of black grouse in Europe
Distribution in Europe.[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Tetrao tetrix

The black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock,[4] is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and steppe habitat when breeding, often near wooded areas. They will spend the winter perched in dense forests, feeding almost exclusively on the needles of conifers. The black grouse is one of two species of grouse in the genus Lyrurus, the other being the lesser-known Caucasian grouse.

The female is greyish-brown and has a cackling or warbling call. She takes all responsibility for nesting and caring for the chicks, as typical with most galliforms.

The black grouse's genome was sequenced in 2014.[5]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Lyrurus tetrix". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679480A85944601. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679480A85944601.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b BirdLife International and NatureServe (2014) Bird Species Distribution Maps of the World. 2012. Lyrurus tetrix. In: IUCN 2014. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.. Downloaded on 2 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Lyrurus tetrix". Avibase.
  4. ^ "Lyrurus tetrix (Black Grouse) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wang2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).