The western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie /ˌkæpərˈkeɪl(j)i/, is a heavy member of the grouse family … See more

Male and female western capercaillie can easily be differentiated by their size and colouration. The cock is much bigger than the hen. It is one of the most sexually dimorphic in size of living bird species, only exceeded by the larger types of bustards and … See more

The western capercaillie is adapted to its original habitats—old coniferous forests with a rich interior structure and dense ground vegetation of See more

The word capercaillie is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic capall coille (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [kʰaʰpəɫ̪ˈkʰɤʎə]) "Horse of the … See more

The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under its current binomial name.
Its closest relative is the black-billed capercaillie, Tetrao parvirostris, which breeds in the larch See more

The capercaillie is a non-migratory sedentary species, breeding across northern parts of Europe and the Palearctic in … See more

The western capercaillie lives on a variety of food types, including buds, leaves, berries, insects, grasses and in the winter mostly conifer needles. One can see the food remains in their … See more