What bird makes a sound like a capercaillie. The sounds made by the capercaillie during the period of mating. How long do capercaillie live
The capercaillie, or the deaf black grouse, is a large representative of the chicken order. This is a real forest bird - the taiga forests are the habitat of the capercaillie. It is known mainly as a hunting bird. years. Capercaillie lek on the ground and on trees, while the males make special sounds, take various poses, and sometimes fight violently. Even the legend is folded (hence the name of the bird) that the capercaillie during mating is so carried away by its singing that it doesn’t hear anything, and at this time you can just take it with your hands, and it doesn’t cost anything to shoot. Capercaillie really "sings" very enthusiastically. But he does not deaf while singing. He stops hearing only during the last bars, 4-8 seconds before the end of the song. Why this happens is still not clear. In general, the wood grouse is a very cautious bird, it lives, as a rule, in dense forests, keeps in bushes or in dense crowns of trees. It looks for food on the ground and on trees, and only during the nesting period does it completely move to live on the ground, but this applies only to the capercaillie, because. only she incubates the eggs and leads the chicks. Therefore, the females have a protective coloration.
The male reaches a length of 1 m and weighs 5-6 kg. It differs from the female in its brighter plumage. In addition, the female is much smaller and weighs only 1.5-3 kg. Bird nests are arranged right under the trees, near forest paths, usually a small hole in the ground. The female lays 5 to 12 eggs there. Chicks appear in a month. The mother will raise the offspring and take care of him until the chicks grow up. The chicks become mobile as soon as they dry out. The first days still need the help of the mother (they get cold at night), but by ten days of life they already fly well, and at the end of summer they become completely independent. At this time, the birds begin to stray into small flocks. But unlike black grouse, which have both females and males in flocks, capercaillie are strictly divided into “male” and “female” companies. The females stay with their mother, and the males leave with other males and return only a year later during the mating season to the lek. At this time, males show their beauty to females.
Capercaillie feed mainly on plant foods: in summer - berries, flowers, buds and leaves, in winter - needles. The chicks feed on insects and spiders. Often they eat coarse, poorly digestible food (needles, end branches of trees) and in the stomachs of capercaillie there are especially a lot of pebbles - “millstones” that help grind food. They grind, grind even the shells of pine nuts, which these birds feed on in Siberia in winter.
Capercaillie are now becoming generally rare birds. Adults are killed by poachers and hunters, their numbers are declining due to the destruction of forests suitable for their life. The female and her brood are constantly under threat in her nest, since it is located on the ground. But a caring mother will never leave the nest if the chicks are in danger. Often she makes a distracting maneuver, flying out to meet the enemy, while the chicks, meanwhile, flee to the forest thicket. Young growth dies from unexpected frosts, various predators destroy capercaillie. Only 20 percent of those that appeared in spring survive until autumn.
Grouse birds live in conditions of snowy winters, to which they are perfectly adapted. Their paws are feathered to the very fingers, and they can walk on a snow-covered crust without falling through. Many of them spend the night in the winter, buried in the snow. Capercaillie are strongly attached to their habitat and leave it only if it gets too cold.
Capercaillie is a real forest bird. It inhabits large tracts of large and old forests of various types, preferring, however, pine forests and oak forests. Most of his life leads a terrestrial-arboreal way of life, as he feeds on trees. An unforgettable spectacle - capercaillie current. In the evening, birds fly to the lek and spend the night there on a tree. At dawn, wood grouse start their current song, which lasts 5-6 seconds. This song is relatively quiet for such a large bird, it is barely audible at a distance of more than 150 m and consists of two parts - “tacking” and “turning”. The capercaillie begins singing with a double click: "te-ke ... te-ke ... te-ke ..." hissing sounds, as if someone is cleaning a pan with a metal brush. During this "turning" (sounds similar to those heard when sharpening a scythe), the capercaillie loses his hearing, hence the well-known comparison: "Deaf, like a capercaillie on a current."
Like all grouse, only hens hatch chicks. The chicks leave the nest shortly after hatching from the egg. Due to their coloring, they are almost invisible against the background of forest vegetation.
Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
| Value | Male body length up to 90 cm, weight from 3.5 to 6.5 kg; the female has a length of 60 cm, weight from 1.7 to 2.3 kg |
| signs | Male: grayish-gray plumage, black goiter with a green metallic sheen, brown wings, black tail with white spots, black beard and white beak; female: yellowish-red striped, with brown and buffy tops of feathers, rather long, rounded tail |
| Nutrition | Plant shoots, needles (especially pine needles), berries, insects (ants) |
| reproduction | At the foot of a tree or between low bushes; 7-11 yellow-brown eggs, starting from April; incubation lasts 27 days; one brood per year |
| habitats | Quiet coniferous and mixed forests with dense undergrowth of berry bushes; lives all year round; north and temperate regions of Eurasia, almost exterminated in Central Europe |
The largest representative of the grouse family is the capercaillie. The capercaillie genus consists of two species living on the territory of the USSR: capercaillie and stone capercaillie.
The band of distribution of wood grouse from the Kola Peninsula, Arkhangelsk, the lower reaches of the Pechora, the Northern Urals, the Yenisei and the Lena to Belarus, Ukraine, the Middle Volga region, the Southern Urals, Western Siberia, the Baikal region and Northern Mongolia. In Altai, in southeastern Siberia, in Kamchatka and Sakhalin, a stone capercaillie lives.
Capercaillie is a powerful, heavy bird weighing up to 4-5 kilograms, up to 100 cm long. Capercaillie is much smaller than the male and differs from the latter in color.
Capercaillie keep in deciduous and coniferous forests with moss swamps, feed on tree buds, tree leaves, needles, clover and various wild berries and seeds.
SPRING HUNTING PERIOD
Hunting for capercaillie begins early, usually in March, and in the south - from February. In winter, capercaillie keeps alone or in small flocks in the thickets, spending almost all day on the ground under the dense branches of pines or spruces. In severe frosts and severe snowstorms, he often clogs in the snow, where he spends the whole day. In the morning and in the evening, capercaillie usually get out of the supports to the forest edges and feed here on needles, mainly pine or buds of deciduous trees. Capercaillie almost always spend the night at this time in the trees, sitting down to sleep somewhere on a bough closer to the trunk.
With the first glimpses of spring, capercaillie gradually get out of the thicket into the woodlands, closer to the places of currents. Older males more and more often begin to visit leks, at first keeping almost exclusively on trees, and then they go down and walk along the crust, drawing snow with their wings. At first, the capercaillie "draws" silently, and then occasionally makes a voice - "tekaya". As the spring advances, capercaillie less and less often descend to the ground and begin to lek.
Current hunting
In the spring, one way of hunting capercaillie is allowed, and then only for males - this is on the current.
In most cases, capercaillie on the current are shot from the approach. You can also hunt from a hut. However, this is possible only on a few leks, which are distinguished by a significant number of flocking singers and their maximum concentration in a small section of the lek.
On such currents, capercaillie are placed rather closely and sometimes sing on the ground. In these places, you need to build a hut, climbing into it even in complete darkness. But there are very few currents of this kind, and therefore it is much more interesting to hunt from the approach. Hunting for current capercaillie from the approach is based on the fact that the capercaillie during the last trill of his song hears and sees so badly that at that time you can approach him without even hiding behind any cover.
The song of the capercaillie consists of two parts. The first, as it were, introductory part of the song is "clicking", published in the form of "teke-teke", and therefore is called "tekan" by many hunters. The clicking capercaillie, as it were, listens to the surrounding sounds and at this time hears and sees perfectly. The second - the final part of the capercaillie song? reminiscent of a muffled chirping or the sound of a knife turning. During this chirping (or "turning") capercaillie does not react to sounds or visual impressions. At this time, one should approach the capercaillie, taking two or three steps to the song, and in any case more than five steps. The tapping of a capercaillie in calm weather can be heard at a hundred or two hundred steps, and the chirping, especially its end, is a little further. Hunters who first heard the song of the capercaillie are often surprised that such a large bird as the capercaillie makes quiet sounds when towing. The weakness of the sounds of capercaillie displaying is especially striking when compared with the sonorous displaying of the closest relative of the capercaillie - black grouse.
The duration of the capercaillie clicking is very indefinite, and the chirping itself is about three to four seconds.
Most often, capercaillie sing on the outskirts of a vast moss swamp overgrown with rare pines, and in areas where there is no msharin, in a forest near a swamp or lake, but always far from the edges, carriageways and human habitation.
Currents from year to year are in the same places, unless, of course, there have been drastic changes in the nature of the terrain (solid cuttings, forest fires, windblows, etc.).
In most cases, currents are located in relative proximity to the places of summer residence of capercaillie broods and the autumn-winter quarters of capercaillie. More precisely, it is possible to determine the place of the future current in early spring, when the capercaillie begin to leave the protected wintering grounds and move to the areas of the current. At this time, traces of capercaillie appear in the snow in the form of paw prints and droppings scattered along the way. Capercaillie move more on foot, but do not always leave paw prints on the snow, since the snow at this time is often covered with a hard crust - crust.
In addition, stripes of lowered wings are mixed with the paw prints of the capercaillie in the snow: old roosters warmed by the sun walk on the crust and, spreading their wings, draw arcuate lines on the snow with them. The appearance of the first "drawings" of the capercaillie is a sign of the imminent start of the current, and the place of these drawings is a sure indicator, if not of the current itself, then of its immediate neighborhood.
The clucking of wood grouse, which accumulate near the singing roosters (at the height of the currents), also serves as a sign of the proximity of the current. You can also navigate in the direction of the evening flight of capercaillie from feeding to the place of the current. Powerful wing beats of birds moving along the current or fighting birds, heard in clear and calm weather very far away, also serve as indications for the hunter where the current is.
The choice of tree and the method of planting for the song of the capercaillie are quite diverse: the top of a large larch, a dense "kitchen" of a thick pine, the top, and sometimes the very thick of a spruce, small, stubby pines in a swamp, sometimes the lowest bough of a large pine, even just a large deadwood and Finally, land - these are the points on which the capercaillie most often lek.
Individual singers are located quite far apart in terms of current, sometimes occupying an area of several square kilometers. Only at the height of the current, several roosters gather in its center, between which fights take place in the presence of sometimes a fairly large number of capercaillie.
Old capercaillie begin to sing even on the crust, on the first clear spring mornings. Gluharki do not take part in the current at this time. The closer to the complete disappearance of the snow, the more passionate the songs become, the rally to the current takes place already, as a rule, in the evening, and the beginning of the current long before sunrise. Younger roosters and yearlings flock to the currents, which at first sit silently, and then begin to make their first attempts to sing.
The height of the currents usually happens when there is no more snow in the forest or it remains in small spots in the places most protected from the rays of the spring sun.
You can also start hunting on currents in the snow, if the crust is strong or if the snow is soft, and you can walk on it without noise. If during the day it melted strongly, and the crust formed at night does not withstand the weight of a person, then the approach to the capercaillie is extremely difficult, and without skis it is almost impossible. Therefore, the best time for hunting on the current comes when the snow remains only in some places in the most shaded and strong places of the forest and in the pits.
During the day, the capercaillie stays close to the lek, arriving there usually in the evening and very rarely, at the beginning of the lekking - in the morning. At the evening rally, the capercaillie does not immediately stop on the tree that will be the place of its mating, but flies from tree to tree until it chooses a point that satisfies its tastes.
In the midst of the currents, you need to come hunting long before sunset in order to be "overhearing". To do this, you need to carefully approach the place of the current and sit down somewhere on its edge behind some kind of cover. One should not sit on the earphones in the center of the lek, because leaving it at night, one can frighten away the flocked singers.
Capercaillie arrives on the current immediately after sunset or shortly before it. The rally takes place amicably and lasts no more than 20-25 minutes. The old capercaillie sits down on a tree with great noise, and the young - timidly, trying not to make noise and not attract the attention of angry and stronger capercaillie.
Listening to the noise of the wings of the capercaillie flying up and those special sounds, somewhat reminiscent of the grunting of a piglet, called "skirk" or "grunt", which the capercaillie makes when it lands on a tree, the hunter can roughly determine the number of birds that have flocked and the places where they are located. This is very important for the success of the morning hunt.
It is also important to count capercaillie on the current in order to know exactly how many roosters (without the risk of destruction in this current place) can be shot. The current, where only two or one capercaillie sings, is best not to be touched at all in the interests of their future increase at the expense of young animals.
Having remembered the location of the flocked roosters and having figured out the plan for the morning approach, the hunter - already in the dark - carefully leaves the current to the place of lodging for the night. It is necessary to spend the night at a distance of at least half a kilometer from the current, in a place closed by dense, best of all, spruce plantations, so that the light from the fire (usually bred at the place of lodging) is not visible and does not attract the attention of capercaillie sleeping on the current.
Long before dawn, the hunter should carefully approach the current in the dark, quietly sit down and wait for the capercaillie to sing. Capercaillie begin to sing even in the dark, immediately after the start of the morning draft of woodcocks, but sometimes a little later.
As soon as the morning draft of the woodcocks begins, the hunter, stepping quietly and carefully, moves to the current, stopping from time to time and listening. Having heard the song, the hunter can confidently but secretly move towards the capercaillie. Approach should be stepping to the sound of chirping and, if possible, always hiding behind the trees.
If the capercaillie begins to stop before the trill (chirping) or stops completely - sometimes for fifteen minutes, then this means that he heard or saw the hunter. Then you need to hide behind a tree or stop in place, patiently waiting for a real song, or start approaching another capercaillie. A sluggishly singing capercaillie can enliven the arrival and clucking of a capercaillie; sometimes the hunter himself succeeds, imitating the voice of a capercaillie or the trill of a capercaillie (with the butt of a knife along the barrel of a gun), to “irritate” the singer. It is possible to resort to imitation of clucking or chirping only with skill, remembering that any falseness in sound will inevitably arouse the suspicion of a cautious bird and frighten it away.
There are capercaillie who constantly change their place and, having sung 2-3 times, fly to a new tree. These birds should not be approached at all.
In the intervals between songs, the capercaillie sees and hears well, so you need to approach him all the time hiding behind bushes or tree trunks.
If the hunter managed to see the capercaillie from a distance, then the approach to it is greatly facilitated. In general, it can be advised when approaching a capercaillie to choose a path that is better distant and winding, but always with covers and without obstacles that cause noise.
Approaching the singing capercaillie at a distance of a sure shot, you need to examine it and, when it is clearly visible, shoot. However, not always, even being 10-15 steps from a singing bird, it is easy to see it, guided only by the song. The singing capercaillie is in motion all the time (walks on the branch, turns, etc.), and it is very difficult to determine from the song where he is, on a tree or on the ground. The sounds of the song seem to be rushing from different directions, now quieter, then louder.
The change in the strength of the sound is especially noticeable when the capercaillie sings on the ground, since in this case he walks all the time, constantly turning and covering his head from the hunter with his tail held high or hiding behind bushes and trees. True, while floating on the ground, the capercaillie sometimes takes off, flapping its wings and, once again falling to the ground, runs, continuing to sing. The flapping of wings makes it easier for the hunter to find the bird, but he should be careful and always have good cover, since the capercaillie singing on the ground, changing its place, can see a person and fly away.
To make it easier to look out for the bird, you should approach the capercaillie towards the dawn. The swinging of the branches on which the moving bird sits all the time often helps to pinpoint exactly where it is. When examining trees, one should not miss a single coniferous tree, even the smallest one. There are times when you stubbornly look out for a capercaillie on a large pine or spruce and suddenly find it on a short, gnarled pine, whose branches can hardly withstand the weight of a huge bird.
When shooting, you need to remember that the capercaillie is very strong on the wound. Therefore, the most successful shots at a distance of not more than 50 steps to the head or sideways along the wing. A shot in the butt or in the goiter will only hurt the bird and it will fly away. If the hunter approached unsuccessfully and cannot shoot at the capercaillie for sure (tree branches interfere, the distance is great, but you can’t get closer) - it’s better to move to another, more convenient place and even then shoot with complete confidence as a result of the shot.
A wounded capercaillie usually flies low, choosing open places, and most often sits down on the ground, while one not hit by a shot rises higher, necessarily sits on a tree and, alert, sits silently and only in rare cases begins to sing again this morning.
Shooting at a capercaillie, as well as making any kind of noise (cocking, coughing, etc.) should always be accompanied by a song (more precisely, by chirping). This technique very often allows (especially if a rifle is used), in case of a miss, to make a second shot, since usually a capercaillie, if he is not wounded, does not stop singing. However, if a hunter, approaching a capercaillie, heard the song of another, it is necessary to shoot the first one to the song of a neighbor so as not to frighten the latter and be able to start approaching him immediately after the shot.
Following the shot, you need to freeze in place for a while. This is especially important when there are other singers in the neighborhood. Only when they sing again, you can take the killed capercaillie and start approaching the next one.
Hunting on the current is best done alone. At low currents or at those where capercaillie sing "chest", hunting together is completely impossible. On large - in terms of the number of singers and the area of the current - currents, with a rare location of capercaillie, you can hunt together, but always with an accurate distribution of plots so as not to interfere with each other. To avoid damage to the current, you should shoot only at a distance of an absolutely sure shot and at a clearly visible bird. From shooting in flight, as well as at non-singing capercaillie, one should resolutely abstain.
From a shotgun with which they hunt on current, a long-range sharp and especially constant fight is required, which allows you to confidently shoot a capercaillie at a distance at which the gun is sighted. The fraction should be used large, No. 1 / 0-1.
For current shooting, especially in early spring, a rifle is very suitable, correctly laying a capercaillie at a distance of 120-150 steps. The small bullet "TOZ", caliber 22/100, with all its positive qualities for hunting squirrel and hazel grouse, is unsuitable for shooting capercaillie due to insufficient lethality. Of course, it is possible to kill a capercaillie from it, but most often even a mortally wounded capercaillie can fly away. The best weapon for toka hunting is a good tee, which has two shotgun barrels at the top and a rifled one at the bottom.
It is most convenient to carry the killed capercaillie on a wide belt, one end of which is attached in front to the hunter's belt, and the other end, which has a metal ring with torches tied to it, is thrown over the shoulder so that the birds are placed on the hunter's back. Attaching capercaillie to the belt follows the neck.
For hunting capercaillie current, high (behind the knee), leather or rubber (the former are more convenient in all respects) boots are required. You should dress warmly, as in the spring there are often strong matinees. Later, it is a good idea to take a reliable raincoat with you. For the convenience of an overnight stay, it is useful to take with you light felt boots or other warm shoes and, in any case, a spare pair of thick woolen socks or footcloths.
The spring period of hunting on currents ends when the birch blossoms and its leaf reaches a diameter of 1.5-2.0 cm. Before the end of the currents, when capercaillie stop attending the current after laying eggs, the males sing already incomparably colder. The old people, who began to sing before the youth, stop lekking earlier, so that by the end of the lekking, only young roosters sing.
SUMMER HUNTING PERIOD
15-20 days before the end of the currents, capercaillie sit on their eggs, arranging a nest near the places of the currents, mainly in a large red forest, in more elevated places, but always close to moss swamps and berry fields. The number of eggs in a clutch is from 5 to 10.
At first, capercaillie broods keep close to nests in clearings, burnt areas, near mowing fields, feeding first on insects and ant eggs, and later on strawberries, blueberries, pigeons, lingonberries, etc. Already in July, broods move to berry fields. By mid-July, capercaillie begin to fly well and, raised from the ground, usually sit in trees. By the end of July, in most areas, young cockerels begin to "get in the way of the pen" - blacken. The molting of males and single capercaillie ends. The molting of starok from broods begins. The broods, kept from the end of July exclusively in berry fields, move to more secluded and shady places at night and during the day in the very heat. The molted males and single hens get out of the supports and keep mainly also in the berries, first blueberries, and then lingonberries, and later they begin to visit spring and winter breads. By the end of August, young bettas are almost completely dressed in black.
Hunting for broods and old men with a pointing dog
By the opening of the summer hunting season for capercaillie, that is, in most areas by the beginning of August, capercaillie grow up so much that they fly freely, and young cockerels, "interfering with a feather", begin to differ quite sharply from females (gray).
First of all, you should look for broods near the places of mating, in the edges of a mixed forest adjacent to a swamp or mowing, or, conversely, in the edges of a swamp, mowing or clearing rich in berries. Looking for broods, you need to take into account both the weather and the time of day. In the morning and evening, the brood is feeding, and if it is not in the berry field, then you need to look for it in more open places. At noon - in secluded, shady places. In the rain capercaillie broods seek protection under some kind of cover (for example, under the paws of spruce). Shrubs, young growth - linden, aspen and birch (but not coniferous), deadwood in small open places - all this should not be ignored.
The key to successful hunting for capercaillie broods, as well as usually quite random hunting for old capercaillie in this period, is a smart, instinctive, experienced and polite pointing dog. A young, not yet tempted by the experience of hunting capercaillie, and especially a hot and not so obedient dog, will only deteriorate in this hunt. The fact is that capercaillie, and especially old people, when they hear a dog, do not take off and do not hide (as, for example, black grouse after sending a cop), but on the contrary, first of all they try to get rid of her pursuit by running away along the ground. If at the same time the dog follows the trail relatively straight, it is most likely to expect a brood. If the dog circles, winds and returns to its old track, this means that it is following the trail of the old capercaillie. That is why the cop should be quite experienced, be able to quickly figure it out on the trail and not pull endlessly along the running bird, but on the orders of the hunter, quickly overtake it and force it to rise on the wing at a relatively close distance from the hunter.
The spaniel is a suitable dog for this kind of hunting. Without making a stand, an experienced and well-placed spaniel persistently pursues the running capercaillie, trying to go ahead, turn the birds on the hunter and lift them on the wing at a sure shot distance.
Of course, one should not allow the dog to chase after a bird that has taken off, since in most cases the brood does not rise all at once, and therefore the dog rushing forward may disperse it prematurely.
Old capercaillie feed approximately in the same places as the broods, keeping the rest of the day and night in strong swamps, spruce forests, windfall, in the damp edges of mowing, near springs, streams, etc. Such a capercaillie runs from a dog even more stubbornly than a young one. If the cop fails to quickly figure out his raids, the old man takes off far from the hunter and the dog, while cunningly hiding behind the trees, as a result of which, in most cases, he leaves even without a shot.
Hunting for capercaillie with a cop is short and ends by the end of August - early September, when the capercaillie more and more often, after rising from the ground, sit down in the trees.
Hunting for broods and old men with a husky
In a number of cases, when hunting for capercaillie broods and old people, especially at a later time, a husky is used instead of a setter dog. In order to give the hunter the opportunity to shoot at capercaillie broods and old people on takeoff, the husky should look for them not far from the hunter and, seeing or smelling a bird, slow down and indicate with all their behavior (wagging their tail, etc.) the proximity of the game. The hunter at this moment must rush to the dog in order to have time to make a shot at a capercaillie or an old man who has taken off.
Other qualities are required from huskies in those places where capercaillie broods or growing capercaillie kept separately live mainly in dense coniferous forests and, raised from the ground, usually sit on trees.
Finding a capercaillie on the ground and "planting" it on a tree, or finding it right on a tree, the husky sits down in front of it and starts barking at the bird. The capercaillie usually looks with interest at an unknown animal, walks along the bough and from time to time (if it is a rooster), as if teasing the dog, makes some grumbling sounds - "purrs". In no case should Laika rush to a tree, run around it, fuss excessively, since such behavior can only frighten away a bird. On the contrary, an experienced husky, having seen or heard the approach of a hunter, usually tries to fit on the side of the tree opposite to the hunter, and this makes the approach even easier, diverting the attention of the bird to itself. Capercaillie females usually sit stronger under barking than old males. A young capercaillie, barked by a dog, sits very firmly, and it is very difficult to see him hiding in foliage or needles. Hearing the barking of the dog and focusing on its voice, the hunter carefully approaches the wood grouse, occupied by the dog, and, seeing him, shoots.
In most cases, the dog picks up the capercaillie from the ground. However, if at the same time a bird (especially an old rooster) detects not only the presence of a dog, but also a person, then it flies away very far and sits badly under barking. If a bird took off only from a dog and does not suspect the presence of a person, it usually flies away not far and sits well when barking.
The best time for hunting wood grouse with husky begins with their departure for fattening (for larches and aspens), that is, already in the fall.
Autumn hunting for capercaillie with husky is carried out throughout the day. For the success of the hunt, you only need to know where and at what hours of the day this bird is kept. However, this hunt is most successful in the early morning and in the evening hours, when the capercaillie leaves the feeding grounds, moves more and is therefore easier to detect by the dog.
Having started the approach to the capercaillie being barked by the dog, one should always remember that one should approach slowly, as silently as possible and hiding behind undergrowth or tree trunks, first of all one should see a barking dog. When the hunter approaches her at a distance of a sure shot, one must stop and, having determined by the behavior of the dog which tree she is barking at, try to look at the capercaillie; if this fails, it is necessary to resume the approach, all the time keeping the gun ready; at times you should stop, trying to look at the bird; if the dog barks intermittently, you should approach only during barking.
It often happens that a capercaillie, having noticed or heard an approaching person, unexpectedly before the hunter sees him, falls off the tree. In this case, you need to shoot him on the fly. Hunting for capercaillie with husky continues all summer, autumn and early winter until deep snow.
Shooting of young capercaillie from under the pointer and from under the husky at the beginning of the summer hunt usually occurs at relatively close distances. Therefore, the most common in these cases is a relatively small fraction No. 6-7. For shooting old people, it is recommended to use larger shot No. 4-5, and later, when you have to mainly shoot at greater distances and at a bird that has grown incomparably better dressed and strong on the wound, - shot No. 1 and 2.
When hunting capercaillie from under a husky, especially at a later time - in autumn and early winter, a rifle is often used instead of a shotgun. A tee with a bullet lower barrel is very convenient on this hunt.
WINTER HUNTING PERIOD
With the onset of the first cold matinees, capercaillie broods break up. The young males are the first to separate, by this time they are fully dressed in black attire. As soon as the aspen leaf begins to fade, capercaillie fly out to fatten on aspens. In the north-east, instead of flying to aspens, capercaillie fly to larches, on whose needles, seized by frost, they feed.
At the end of August - in the first half of September, the so-called "autumn capercaillie current" is observed in some places. In early October, the broods finally break up. Capercaillie at this time feed mainly on aspen forests, larches, oaks (acorns), and then until deep snow - again in berry fields (lingonberries, cranberries). With the fall of deep snows and the onset of severe frosts, capercaillie huddle in small flocks and move to dense forests, frequent pine forests or forests on the side of mountain ranges protected from the wind. In the middle lane, capercaillie like to stay at this time in forest ravines, near non-freezing rivers and streams. Capercaillie with deep snowfall mainly feed on needles (pine) or hardwood buds, occasionally juniper berries, mountain ash, etc.
Hunting on larches from a hut and stealth
This hunt begins with the onset of the first strong morning frosts, usually in September, when the larch needles caught by frost begin to wither (“turn sour”) and for several weeks constitute the exceptional food for capercaillie.
At first, capercaillie feed on larch needles only at dawn and sit, fattening no more than one to one and a half hours. But the farther, the more time the capercaillie spends on larches, flying out even in the dark and finishing feeding by 9-10 o’clock in the morning, so that in the evening, from 3-5 o’clock in the afternoon, fly out again and finish fattening with darkness. In favorable weather, the capercaillie sometimes spends the whole day on larches without a break and even spends the night right there, although more often than not on the larch itself, but on nearby pines.
For a successful hunt, it is extremely important to have a preliminary survey of places rich in larch. The fact is that, while feasting on needles, the capercaillie does this very inaccurately, as a result of which not only part of the needles, but also rather large branches fall to the ground. By these signs, it is easy for a hunter to detect capercaillie places. A hunting dog greatly facilitates the search for capercaillie.
Having found a larch visited by capercaillie or a whole group of them, you need to start building a hut. The place for the hut should be chosen so as to be able to shoot at as many trees as possible, on which capercaillie are likely to land. At the same time, one should avoid placing a hut directly under one of the larches, since in this case it will be extremely inconvenient, and sometimes completely impossible, to shoot through thick needles at a capercaillie that has sat down overhead. The hut should be made from the material available nearby and by its nature and color the least noticeable. Only the walls of the hut should be made especially dense, while the top should be made more rare, so that, being well hidden from the eyes of the bird, at the same time, you can freely examine and aim at the capercaillie that has flown in.
In early autumn, capercaillie fly out to larches, sometimes in whole broods, with a stark at the head. In this case, it is better not to rush, but, on the contrary, after giving the capercaillie some calm down and set about fattening, shoot, directing the first shot at the birds that have sat below the others. Such a technique, especially when the bird is not frightened, sometimes makes it possible to kill several pieces from a hooked brood. In other cases, that is, when a single bird flew up to the hut, one should not hesitate, but shoot immediately. However, if the hunter for some reason missed the approach of the bird and cannot immediately look at it, one should not rush, and even more so move in the hope of seeing the bird from another place. The capercaillie that has arrived sits quietly for a very short time. Looking around, he will soon make himself known by fussing with a bitch or by his voice. In no case should you shoot at capercaillie "at random", as this will only scare or injure the bird.
It is best to collect the killed capercaillie at the end of the hunt, as a premature exit from the hut will only scare away other birds.
In cases where there are a lot of larches in the hunting area and capercaillie visit them at an unknown time, hunting from a hut does not give the desired results. In such cases, it is better to hunt wood grouse from the approach, preferably with a good dog. For the success of hunting from an approach without a dog, it is very important to know the area well (location of larches), to be able to move carefully through the forest without any noise, carefully looking through the trees. The weather also matters a lot. On clear and cold days, the capercaillie is very strict, does not let you get close, and besides, the movement of the hunter on the frozen ground can be heard very far away.
The most favorable weather for stealth hunting will be a cloudy, cool day, even with a little light rain. At this time, the capercaillie is very humble, and the hunter, with a certain skill, can move through the forest completely silently. In such weather capercaillie sometimes spend the whole day on larches without a break.
Despite the significant size of the bird, it is very difficult to spot a capercaillie sitting on a tree, and especially a capercaillie, especially since, having heard the approach of a person, the capercaillie hides tightly on the tree and sits motionless.
The presence of a dog (likes) that walks well in the wood grouse makes hunting for stealing much more interesting and successful. In this case, the search for capercaillie on larches is completely left to the dog, and the approach is greatly facilitated by the fact that taking out the capercaillie is completely directed at the dog. In addition, when barking, the capercaillie usually does not sit motionless on a tree, but walks along the bough, stretching its neck to the ground, and even “purrs” at a dog barking under a tree.
Hunting for capercaillie on larch continues in a normal autumn for about 3-4 weeks and ends when the larch needles finally turn yellow and begin to fall to the ground.
They shoot capercaillie on larches from a shotgun and a rifle, and the presence of both guns (and especially the tee) makes this hunt even more successful.
Hunting on aspens from a hut and stealth
In areas where there is no larch or it is very rare, in autumn capercaillie fly to aspens and feed on their withering leaves. Capercaillie make these sorties for feeding along dawns at approximately the same hours as for larches. At the beginning of autumn, mainly young, already molted birds fly out, as well as old capercaillie. Old roosters begin to fly out to aspens 10-12 days later.
Hunting for capercaillie on aspens has much in common with hunting on larches and is carried out in the same way, that is, either from a hut or stealth (with or without a dog). It should be noted that the noise of aspen leaves cut off by capercaillie is heard incomparably farther than the noise from larch needles being torn off. Therefore, in calm weather, an experienced hunter can hear a capercaillie feeding on an aspen for 250-300 steps. In those places where, along with larch, aspens are also found, capercaillie, preferring larch needles, do not fly to aspens.
Hunting for capercaillie on aspens ends with the final withering of the aspen leaf.
Hunting from the entrance
This method of hunting is possible only in such areas where the roads pass through large forests or are adjacent to their edges. It is based on the fact that capercaillie in the fall, as soon as the leaf starts to move, they love to fly out onto the roads in the mornings and evenings and peck small pebbles on them. If the capercaillie are not frightened, then they spend the whole night on the roads or near them, especially where forest berries fly to the roads.
Go hunting should be in such a way that even before sunrise to be in place. You need to go along the road at a step, without any noise, carefully peering into the surrounding trees and the road. You do not need to bring your dog on this hunt. It often happens that capercaillie run along the road in front of the horse and give the hunter the opportunity to stop and shoot at those running. Sometimes you can attack running capercaillie even after sunrise, but in these cases they most often do not withstand the entrance, run in front of the horse for a short time, soon rise and sit on the nearest trees. If capercaillie have been frightened repeatedly before, then usually they fly away completely or make a big flight and land far from the road behind the edge, where it is impossible to get on a horse. In this case, you can try to steal the perched capercaillie from the approach, having previously securely tied the horse.
Fallen snow, if it is not particularly deep, makes hunting even more interesting. In this case, the hunter has the opportunity to look for wood grouses in their tracks, and to drive up to wood grouses sitting on the side of the road without much difficulty on light sledges.
In a number of cases, it is more expedient, having found fresh traces of capercaillie on the road or near it, to get off the horse and follow the tracks on foot, raising the capercaillie on the wing and shooting at them on takeoff.
Hunting from the entrance continues all autumn until deep snow.
Hunting on treasures
In some localities, arable lands are located far from the villages, and grain luggage is brought from them not immediately, but gradually. Having found out by preliminary reconnaissance that such treasures are visited by capercaillie, the hunter builds a hut here and watches for capercaillie flying to the treasure, and often even walking on foot. Capercaillie should be watched for at the treasures in the morning dawn, coming to the hunting place in the dark.
Pebble hunting
The need for mechanical assistance of small pebbles for the digestive process forces the capercaillie to make systematic sorties to the banks of rivers and streams, roads, cuts, dumps, etc. In those areas where capercaillie have little anxiety, pebble hunting can be interesting and successful. It is produced in two ways: from an ambush and from the entrance.
Having established areas of pebbles visited by capercaillie (following tracks, droppings, etc.), the hunter arranges a hiding place here and sits in it, watching for the arriving capercaillie. Departure of capercaillie to pebbles occurs in the mornings still in the dark, and in the evening - at the very sunset. At least an hour before departure, you should already be sitting in the cloakroom.
Hunting on pebbles from the entrance is possible only where capercaillie peck pebbles along the river banks. In this case, the hunter quietly floats downstream in a small and shallow-draft boat, rowing with one stern oar, and when approaching capercaillie pecking pebbles, only directing the boat to them. It is useful if the boat is disguised (with branches, grass) as a bush, and the disguise will reliably protect the hunter.
In the autumn and winter, the capercaillie is very strong on the wound, and in most cases it is necessary to shoot at it at fairly considerable distances. Therefore, in order to avoid wounded animals, it is necessary to use a gun that is strong in combat and relatively large shot numbers, avoiding shooting beyond the limits of a sure shot. It is necessary to aim the capercaillie in the side (along the wing) or in the back, avoiding shooting in the chest. For hunting wood grouse in autumn, it is recommended to use shot No. 1-2.
To the question Why was the capercaillie so called? What's wrong with his hearing? given by the author Galina Maltseva the best answer is The short-term absence of hearing during mating in our largest forest bird gave rise to its name - capercaillie, capercaillie, deaf black grouse. Only in the most remote areas, in bearish corners, did this bird retain its ancient name - flywheel, moshnik, moshny grouse, kopalukha, motley.
SO WHY DOES THE CORNERCOUNTER, a rather sensitive and cautious bird, lose his hearing during the second half of his current song (“squirting”), which lasts only two or three seconds? On this occasion, a variety of opinions were expressed in the hunting literature, and some of them are very curious. For example, in A. I. Kuprin’s story “On the Capercaillie” (1908), it is said about the current capercaillie: “... that the capercaillie produces all these sounds with its crooked and hard beak. Capercaillie is the only bird that has no language, but it is huge the cavity of his mouth is a wonderful resonator. Starting a song, he strikes the upper part of his beak on the lower one. He strikes and listens. Then he strikes again and listens again, and strikes more and more often until it turns into a fraction. Then the capercaillie is no longer able to stop In a wild love ecstasy, he rubs one jaw against another, fiercely gnashes them and forgets in these moments about danger, and about numerous enemies, and about wise prudence, and decisively about everything in the world.
Many try to explain the deafness of the current capercaillie by the strong excitation of the bird, in which blood rushes to the head, the blood vessels swell and block the ear canal. Every hunter knows that in a current bird, capercaillie or black grouse, the rush of blood to the head is greatly increased, which is clearly visible in the swollen parts of the head, devoid of feathers (swollen eyebrows). blood to the ear canal is unlikely. Apparently, without excluding this, the auditory canal of the bird during turning must temporarily be blocked in some other way. 
Answer from 22 answers[guru]
Hey! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Why was the capercaillie so called? What's wrong with his hearing?
Answer from capable[guru]
Deaf, you know, at times
Answer from HOW LONG?![guru]
he dies in ecstasy. this is true. during the current.
Answer from European[guru]
when he talks he does not hear
Answer from irrigate[master]
Because when he talks, i.e. attracts females with sounds and body movements, he really does not hear anything and does not pay attention to anything. At this time, he can be beaten with a simple stick.
Answer from Victoria[guru]
Is the capercaillie deaf? Solid wood grouse live in dense coniferous forests - the largest among chickens (up to 115 cm, up to 6.5 kg). Gluharki, or kopalukhas, as hunters call them, are much smaller than males (up to 3 kg) and are not dressed so smartly. Capercaillie spend the winter sitting on trees, eating seeds and buds. For lodging for the night or in frosts, they dive into snowdrifts and rarely walk on the ground in winter. Closer to spring, capercaillie more and more often go down to the snow, trample unnecessarily, leave bizarre traces in the snow - “nabrody”, as the hunters say. And then they take up “drawing” (also a hunting word) - they draw intricate squiggles on the snow with wings. Both "nabrods" and "drawings" are a sign of an approaching current. There is still snow in the forest, and the males are already clicking on the trees, raising their tails, throwing back their heads. With the appearance of the first thawed patches, capercaillie flock to currents - from year to year to the same clearings and edges. Here the spectators pull up to look at the suitors. And as soon as the snow melts, the current enters in full force. Capercaillie does not sing songs, but it can click and chirp loudly, like a magpie. During this chirping, the bird stalls. At this moment, a special blade in the ear canal fills with blood, swells and “plugs the ears” so tightly that the current gentlemen do not even hear the shots. This is used by hunters, waiting for deaf birds on the currents. On the current, wood grouses get into such a rage that they attract not only their females, but also black grouse very similar to them, “snatching” them from the current black grouse. From such "unequal marriages" quite viable and prolific offspring are born. Crossbreeds of black grouse and capercaillie prefer to lek together with black grouse. Being larger and stronger than grouse, crossbreeds are very popular with grouse, and therefore breed more successfully. Having won as many females as possible, capercaillie retire to the thickets to molt. And kopalukhs (female capercaillie) are taken for nesting affairs. Capercaillie will lay up to 16 eggs, but most of the chicks will die before autumn. Night frosts, which are not uncommon in the taiga and at the beginning of summer, will freeze some of the small chicks, the mother will not save everyone from predators - hardly 1/5 of the brood will last until autumn. By the end of autumn, young and adult birds will be divided into flocks - females will winter with males separately.
Answer from Irina[master]
The common capercaillie is a large bird from the subfamily of the grouse, the order Galliformes. The name "capercaillie" is due to the well-known feature of the male current during the mating season - to lose sensitivity and vigilance.
Answer from Natasha[guru]
Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus Linnaeus, 1758; other Russian names - capercaillie, deaf grouse, swindler, flywheel, moss grouse) is a large bird from the subfamily of grouse, order of chickens. The name “grouse” is due to the well-known feature of the male current during the mating season, to lose sensitivity and vigilance, which is often used by hunters.
Answer from YEAH I, DAMN!!![guru]
During mating, Capercaillie lek, the emphasis is on U, just during the lek, they absolutely do not hear anything ...
Answer from Vladislav Volk[newbie]
The short-term absence of hearing during mating in our largest forest bird gave rise to its name - capercaillie, capercaillie, deaf black grouse. Only in the most remote areas, in bearish corners, did this bird retain its ancient name - flywheel, moshnik, moshny grouse, kopalukha, motley. SO WHY DOES THE CORNERCOUNTER, a rather sensitive and cautious bird, lose his hearing during the second half of his current song (“squirting”), which lasts only two or three seconds? On this occasion, a variety of opinions were expressed in the hunting literature, and some of them are very curious. For example, in A. I. Kuprin’s story “On the Capercaillie” (1908), it is said about the current capercaillie: “... that the capercaillie produces all these sounds with its crooked and hard beak. Capercaillie is the only bird that has no language, but it is huge the cavity of his mouth is a wonderful resonator. Starting a song, he strikes the upper part of his beak on the lower one. He strikes and listens. Then he strikes again and listens again, and strikes more and more often until it turns into a fraction. Then the capercaillie is no longer able to stop In a wild love ecstasy, he rubs one jaw against another, fiercely gnashes them and forgets in these moments about danger, and about numerous enemies, and about wise prudence, and decisively about everything in the world.
Capercaillie(Tetrao urogallus) - one of the largest representatives of chicken, growing almost from a turkey. The mass of males ranges from 3.5 to 6.5 kg, females - from 1.7 to 2.3 kg. It is a large, clumsy and shy bird. The capercaillie's gait is fast; when searching for food, it often runs along the ground. It rises heavily from the ground, flapping its wings loudly and making a lot of noise. The flight is heavy, noisy, almost direct and short unless absolutely necessary. It usually flies above the forest itself or at the height of half a tree; only in autumn, making more significant movements, it keeps high above the forest.
The capercaillie has pronounced sexual dimorphism. The male is much larger than the female and differs sharply from her in plumage color. Unlike the gray female, it looks black from a distance, but in fact its head, neck, back and sides of the body are grayish-gray with a small dark streaked pattern. The goiter is black with a green metallic sheen. The belly is dark with large white spots or white with sparse black-brown spots. The wings are brown, the tail is black with white blurry spots and a striated pattern.
In the female, the general coloration of the upperparts is yellowish-red in a transverse stripe, with brown and buffy tops of the feathers. The throat is buffy, the goiter is red, sometimes with mottled. The rest of the bottom is light red with streaks, the middle of the belly is almost white. The area of distribution of capercaillie covers coniferous and, in some places, broad-leaved forests from the Scandinavian Peninsula, the British Isles and the Pyrenees to Lake Baikal.
Capercaillie is a real forest bird. Inhabits large massifs of large and old forests of various types, preferring, however, pine forests and oak forests. Most of the year it leads a terrestrial-arboreal way of life, as it feeds on trees, and only during the nesting period does it become a completely terrestrial bird.
In coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests, capercaillie live settled within a small area, making only minor local movements. From purely deciduous forests for the winter, they regularly migrate to pine forests or to forest areas with an admixture of pine, the needles of which serve as the main food for capercaillie in winter. At the end of winter, the birds return to their nesting places.
The number of capercaillie is low, and everywhere it is steadily decreasing. This sad phenomenon does not exist only where it is under protection. With the first glimpses of spring, usually in the middle - the end of March, the spring revival begins in males. On clear sunny mornings, before starting feeding, they begin to walk in a special current position - with a vertically raised neck and a fully open tail, with wings slightly set aside and lowered, the ends of which, dragging through the snow, leave characteristic furrows. First, males, and then females, more and more often visit "leks" - special places, usually located in a sparse-stem pine forest, where leks regularly take place. Capercaillie currents are very permanent, many of them can function for decades. Depending on the number of birds and the nature of the forest, currents can have a variety of sizes. Even at the beginning of our century, currents were known where more than a hundred birds gathered.
Now the lek is considered large if more than 10 males regularly lek on it, and the lek where 3-5 males gather is the most common. Where there are very few capercaillie left, they begin to lek alone, which is not normal for them and usually precedes the complete disappearance of birds from the area. The height of mating activity of capercaillie falls in April. Males flock and converge on the lek in the evening, shortly before sunset, although the time of their evening appearance can be very different. Birds are distributed in their areas and in the coming darkness they begin to sing, sitting on trees. With darkness, the singing subsides, the capercaillie fall asleep on the same branches where they sang; some may still feed on pine needles here before going to bed. The sleep of birds at this time is short, and about an hour before the first glimpses of dawn, in complete darkness, the most active males begin the morning current with the first song. Gradually, all the males who have gathered on the lekking sing, they get excited and perform song after song almost without interruption. As soon as dawn dawns, the males, one by one, begin to fly to the ground with a loud flapping of their wings.
The entire territory of the lekka is usually divided between males into separate sections, and the most convenient of them, usually located in the center, are captured by the most active and strong males over the age of 3 years. Leaking on the ground in the predawn twilight, the males vigilantly guard the boundaries of their sites, and if someone violates them, then this is inevitably followed by a fight with the owner of the site. The fights of capercaillie are very cruel. With their strong beaks, which easily bite branches the thickness of a little finger, they can inflict serious wounds, and their wing beats make such a noise during fights that it seems as if a pine tree is collapsing.
In the predawn hours, females appear on the current. They arrive one by one, two by two, sit down along the outskirts of the current, and then descend to the ground to the males they have chosen. It is difficult to say what guides females when choosing males: it is possible that the location of the site plays a significant role. In any case, often most of the females, 3-5 each, are concentrated around the central "currents", while there is not a single one in the remaining areas. As the sun rises, the activity on the lek quickly fades, the capercaillie fly away, and the males, after streaming for some time, scatter or disperse to feed. Where the birds are not disturbed, they can spend the whole day in the immediate vicinity of the current and return to it again in the evening on foot.
The capercaillie song is relatively quiet for such a large bird, it is barely audible at a distance of more than 150 m. The song consists of 2 parts - “tekany” and “turning”. Starting a song, the capercaillie first makes a double click ("teka") like "te-ke ... te-ke ... te-ke ...". The pauses between these clicks shorten rapidly until they merge into a solid short trill that cuts off abruptly, and this is followed by the second part of the song of low hissing sounds, as if someone is brushing a pan. During this “turning” (many believe that these sounds are similar to those heard when sharpening a scythe), the capercaillie loses its hearing, which is what hunters use. The whole song lasts about 5-6 seconds. The reasons for the deafness of the male during the performance of the second part of the song are not yet clear. Perhaps the bird is losing its vigilance due to extreme excitement. Probably, by making hissing sounds, the bird muffles itself, or maybe the reason for this is a special gland in the ear canal, permeated with blood vessels. Swelling during singing from the influx of blood, it can "clog" the ear.
Glukharki visit the current for a relatively short time - about 2 weeks. After they start laying eggs and stop appearing on the lek, the males lek for about a month, but every day the excitement of their lek goes out, and, finishing the lek, they sing, no longer raising or opening their magnificent tail.
Glukharka builds a nest not far from the current, usually under the protection of branches, but often openly. The clutch usually contains 7-9 eggs, sometimes up to 16. The female lays eggs at intervals of 24 to 48 hours. Incubation lasts 25-27 days. The mass of a newly hatched chick ranges from 33 to 45 g. In the first autumn, the chicks are far from reaching the size and weight of adult birds; this happens only in the second autumn.
For the winter, birds gather in flocks of 5-25 birds, males often keep separate from females. Capercaillie spend the whole winter in a relatively small area, settling for the night in snowy chambers and feeding almost all daylight hours with a break in the middle of the day. Winter food consists almost exclusively of pine needles or Siberian cedar. An adult male eats about 500 g of needles per day. The summer food of capercaillie is noticeably more diverse and consists mainly of green parts of various herbs, and in autumn the main food is berries. In Siberia, pine nuts are also eaten in autumn.
Capercaillie is a valuable hunting and commercial species. With proper protection and the availability of quiet breeding sites, he can get along well with humans and live even close to large cities.
In Siberia and the Far East, east of Lake Baikal and Lena, there lives another species of capercaillie - stone capercaillie(T. urogalloides). Males are almost entirely black-brown, with bright white spots on the wings and rump. The females are similar to the females of the common capercaillie, but more grey, and their chest is not red, but blackish-gray. The sizes are somewhat smaller than those of the previous species: males rarely weigh more than 4 kg. Unlike the common one, the stone capercaillie feeds on the shoots and buds of larch trees throughout the winter. Males lek in a similar way, but their song consists of only clicks, very loud and reminiscent of the sound of castanets. These clicks follow one after another with several trills. At the same time, the bird does not lose its hearing, and if it does, then to a very small extent in the final part of the song.
field grouse(Lyrurus tetrix) is perhaps the most famous representative of the grouse bird family. Males are distinguished by their blue-black plumage, on which white mirrors on the wings and white undertail stand out sharply. Females are grayish-brown, motley, very similar to wood grouse, but with white mirrors on the wings, like males. These birds are medium in size, the weight of males is on average 1.2-1.4 kg, females - less than 1 kg.
The black grouse inhabits the forest and forest-steppe zones of Eurasia from the British Isles east to Sikhote-Alin.
This is a semi-sedentary bird, in some places it makes minor seasonal migrations, more regularly expressed in mountainous areas. In some years, mass migrations of black grouse are observed, apparently associated with poor fodder harvest.
Black grouse is an inhabitant of the edges of forests and forest-steppe. In nesting time, it prefers birch forests alternating with grain fields, aspen and linden forests in the vicinity of extensive clearings by burnt forests, forest edges and sparse undergrowth with the obligatory presence of berry bushes and dry places necessary for building nests; deaf tall forests avoids.
In the south of the range, under the influence of plowing of the steppes and the reduction of forests, its range is shrinking, while in the north, due to deforestation, the territory it occupies is gradually expanding.
The settlement of the black grouse is noticeably smaller than that of the capercaillie. If the conditions of existence are favorable, then most of the birds live throughout their lives in a relatively small area, the size of which usually does not exceed 10 km2. However, in the event of a poor harvest of birch catkins for winter food) or with an excessive increase in numbers in some area, black grouse are able to make massive movements, sometimes taking on the character of seasonal migrations.
Mating revival in males begins long before the first thawed patches appear in the sun. A peculiar, reminiscent of the gurgling of overflowing water, the song of a black grouse, the so-called mumbling, can be heard already from the beginning of March. However, the real mating of males begins much later, even later than in capercaillie, in the second half of April - early May, when the snow has already melted from open places. The grouse current is usually located in an open place - in raised bogs, in clearings, but especially often in hay meadows, yellow from last year's grass. In the north, black grouse lek even on the ice of lakes. The number of males on the lek depends on the total number of birds in the area and can vary from a few individuals to several tens of birds. Back in the middle of our century, there were currents where more than a hundred males gathered. Now leks are predominant everywhere, where 5-12 males lek, and cases when black grouse lek alone have become noticeably more frequent.
In the midst of mating activity, males lek with exceptional passion, and a good lek, bubbling like a boiling cauldron, can be detected by ear several kilometers away. Males appear on the lekking ground in complete darkness, shortly before dawn, and immediately begin lekking, distributing over their territories. As with capercaillie, each current male has its own specific area on the current, which he actively guards. At the height of the current, skirmishes between neighboring males now and then occur at the boundaries of the plots. The current black grouse stretches its neck and head parallel to the ground, opens its tail wide, slightly sets aside its wings, and in this position moves in small steps around the site, performing its song over and over again. The fully extended tail stands upright or even tips over the back. From time to time, the male straightens up, sticks out his chest and emits a loud hissing chuffy, like “chuffffy”, audible, however, no more than 200-300 m.
Females appear at dawn and first fly along the outskirts of the lek, making inviting sounds, and then head to the center of the lek to the males they have chosen. With the appearance of females, the intensity of male display increases sharply, and with their disappearance, it gradually fades. Current black grouse do not lose their vigilance for a second, and it is extremely difficult to get close to the current at a close distance.
The nesting life of the black grouse proceeds in the same way as that of the capercaillie. Females arrange nests near the lek. The clutch contains mostly 7-9 eggs, although large clutches up to 13 eggs were also found. Incubation period is 23-25 days. The broods first keep in dense grass along the outskirts of meadows near forest edges, and then, when the chicks grow up enough, they move to the berries. In late autumn, flocks are formed, which are both mixed and consisting of either males or females. Winter flocks of black grouse can number several hundred birds, and such a flock spends the whole winter within a relatively small area. Unlike capercaillie and white partridges, black grouse are much less hardy and even with moderate frosts of about -20 ° C they spend 23 hours a day under snow. In such situations, birds have only one feeding, in the morning. Coming out of the snow-covered chambers, the black grouse fly to the nearest birches, quickly fill their crops there and burrow under the snow again.
The black grouse is mainly a herbivorous bird; animal foods are consumed by chicks at an early age, they are of little importance in adults. The set of forages is quite significant: about 80 species of plants and about 30 species of animals are registered in the diet of black grouse from several regions of the European part of Russia. It is especially diverse in spring and summer. At this time, leaves, buds, flowers, seeds of many herbaceous and shrubby plants are eaten in the greatest quantity, the species composition of which varies depending on geographical areas. In winter, birds mainly consume buds, catkins and shoots of birch, alder, willow, aspen, juniper berries, as well as winter pine cones. In the first week, the chicks feed almost exclusively on animals: spiders, beetles, caterpillars, bugs, cicadas, mosquitoes, flies, etc., and later they switch to plant foods.
In nature, the black grouse has quite a few enemies, among which the goshawk and the fox deserve special mention. In winter, chains of fox tracks stretch, as a rule, in those places where black grouse are especially willing to spend the night. However, the main influence on the number of birds is exerted by the weather of the time when the mass hatching of chicks occurs. In recent decades, the number of black grouse has experienced a very strong reduction under the influence of various anthropogenic factors. Granular fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals, as well as power lines, were especially detrimental to birds. All this led to the fact that from a commercial species, black grouse turned into a relatively small bird, hunting for which is prohibited in various regions.
caucasian black grouse(L. mlokosiewiczi) is similar to the common black grouse, but slightly smaller and slightly different in plumage color. In males, it is dull or velvety black, almost without shine, there is no mirror on the wing. The extreme helmsmen are bent more down than to the sides. In the female, the mottles are smaller and uniform, forming a striated pattern.
The Caucasian black grouse is distributed in an extremely limited area - within the alpine belt of the Main Caucasian Range and the Lesser Caucasus, at an altitude of 1500 to 3000 m above sea level.
The Caucasian black grouse inhabits alpine meadows covered with rich vegetation, thickets of rhododendron and undersized birch; in winter it occurs in the subalpine upper forests and on the warms of the lower part of the alpine zone. It leads a more or less sedentary lifestyle, making only minor vertical seasonal movements - in winter, birds descend to the upper limit of the forest or enter it.
The display of the Caucasian black grouse has a number of peculiar features. Not only old, but also young males, still in a motley gray, non-adult outfit, participate in the current. On the current, the roosters either sit quietly, or, lowering their wings and raising their tail almost vertically, jump up to a height of about 1 m, while turning 180 °. The jump is accompanied by a characteristic flapping of wings. The frequency of jumps expresses the degree of excitation of the bird and increases with the appearance of each new rooster or female. If one rooster bounces, then in turn (rarely together) all the others also jump. Usually the current passes in silence, except for the flapping of wings when jumping. Occasionally, roosters click their beaks or emit a short wheezing, reminiscent of the muffled and soft cry of a corncrake.
The lifestyle of this black grouse is in many ways similar to that of the common grouse. Caucasian black grouse spend the winter in the same way as ordinary black grouse. At night, birds burrow under the snow, feed in the mornings and evenings, in the middle of the day they usually rest in the sun, and in bad frosty weather they burrow again under the snow.
Due to its comparatively small number, the Caucasian black grouse, even in the past, has never been of particular importance as an object of hunting. Now the number of this species remains at a satisfactory level only in reserves. Included in the Red Book of Russia.
A few more species of peculiar grouse birds live in North America. So, great steppe grouse(Tympanuchus cupido) inhabits the open prairie and forest-steppe of the central regions of North America. In size, it is slightly inferior to the common black grouse: old males usually weigh no more than 1100 g, females are somewhat smaller. In color, males and females are almost indistinguishable - evenly motley, with a striated pattern, especially pronounced on the chest, and a predominance of sand and yellowish-brown tones. This coloration is clearly protective in nature and makes the birds hardly noticeable against the background of burnt grass. Males are easily recognizable due to the peculiar decorating feathers - "ears", growing in two bunches on the sides of the upper part of the neck. During mating, the male raises them forward and upward, acquiring a completely unusual “horned” appearance.
Large steppe black grouse lek on traditional lekeries, where up to several dozen birds gather at the height of the mating season. The main element in the mating ritual of the male is a kind of song, which consists of three following one after another, almost merging humming sounds, like “oooh-uuuu-oooh”, quite loud and audible for more than 3 km. These sounds are amplified by special resonators - protrusions of the distensible esophagus, which, inflating, protrude bare, yellow-orange-colored areas of the skin on the sides of the neck, swelling with two brightly colored bubbles. At the same time, the males hold their head and neck parallel to the ground, putting their “horns” forward.
Previously, large steppe black grouse inhabited all the forest-steppe and steppe spaces of the continent and led a life similar to that of the common black grouse. With the advent of the agricultural population, these birds quickly adapted to human agricultural activities and switched to predominantly feeding on grain crops in winter so completely that it is now very difficult to establish what they ate in the winter before agriculture appeared here. At the beginning of the XX century. The great steppe grouse, using the fields of grain crops as the main food base, noticeably increased in number and expanded its range up to the southern regions of Canada, but soon the intensification of agriculture and immoderate hunting gave the opposite result. At present, this species has survived only in a few places in the midwestern United States, and its numbers have become so small that it was listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Lesser steppe grouse(T. pallidicinctus) differs from the large one in smaller size, color details, some features of the display, but in general leads about the same lifestyle. It occupies a small area in the central part of the prairies and is now also preserved in very small numbers.
sharp-tailed grouse(T. phasianellus) got its name for two pairs of narrow, sharply elongated feathers in the center of the tail, protruding several centimeters beyond its edge, with the central pair being the longest. The coloration of this species has the same protective character as that of the steppe grouse, differing only in the details of the pattern and the longitudinal, rather than transverse, striation of the chest. Males and females are colored the same, but females are somewhat smaller and have a shorter tail. Adult birds, like hazel grouse, have a small crest. This is one of the most common and numerous species of American grouse, distributed from the forest tundra to the prairies and from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes.
The sharp-tailed black grouse is also characterized by group display, and in the mating ritual of males, the most interesting is the so-called "dance". Spreading his open wings and raising his tail vertically, the male rapidly stamps his feet, slowly moving along a complex trajectory, somewhat reminiscent of a clockwork toy airplane. Like the great steppe grouse, the sharp-tailed black grouse has become well accustomed to the new agricultural landscapes for him and also switched to feeding on grain cereals in winter. However, in the north of its range - in Northern Canada and Alaska - this species still lives in the same conditions as before the discovery of America by Europeans, and in severe northern winters leads the same life as our hazel grouse or black grouse.
The most unusual among American grouse birds, as well as the largest of them, is sagebrush grouse(Centrocercus urophasianus). Males have a mass of about 3 kg, females - 1.7 kg. Males and females are painted in a similar way in modest grayish-sand colors, and only on the belly there is a black-brown spot. The sagebrush grouse is notable primarily for the fact that in its distribution and daily life it is closely related to the thickets of sagebrush bushes on the desert foothills of the Rocky Mountains. These plants serve as both shelter and main source of nutrition throughout the year. Constant feeding on tender leaves of wormwood gradually led to atrophy of the gastric muscle, so powerfully developed in all gallinaceous birds, and the transformation of the stomach into a highly extensible thin-walled organ.
Wormwood grouse are polygamous. Males gather in spring at traditional leks, usually located on hilltops, and as early as the beginning of the 20th century. leks were known, where several hundred birds gathered. The current ritual of males is exceptionally peculiar. There are no ups, no jumps, no song vocalizations. The bird stands almost all the time in the same place, from time to time only stepping over its feet and periodically performing the same procedure, which boils down mainly to exorbitant swelling of the neck. The esophagus of these birds, like that of blue and steppe grouse, is easily distensible. When the male inflates it, he, in turn, presses to the sides, expanding the neck and upper chest so that they look like a huge white collar, from which a small head protrudes, decorated with special thin feathers rising vertically. The white plumage of the lower part of the neck and sides of the chest has another feature - the feathers here are short, with thick rods pointed towards the top and rigid triangular fans, more like scales. Inflating the neck, the male at the same time runs the folds of the wings along these feathers, producing the same sound as if you run a comb with a fingernail. The feathers of the rather long tail are also pointed, and when the tail is open and upright during towing, they stick out in all directions, as on an Indian's headdress.
Goatzins |
Chicken |
The capercaillie is a rather silent bird that does not differ in a variety of sound signals. Hunters who heard only the spring song of the capercaillie say that only two tribes can be distinguished in the song. In fact, this is not so, and those who say so are not familiar with the life of a capercaillie in the spring. It is possible to study the behavior of the capercaillie in the spring due to such a seasonal biological phenomenon as mating. Sound signals of various purposes and origins are of great importance, because if the hunter knows this, then he will be able to organize and conduct effective hunting on the current. The objects of shooting, as a rule, are males, so let's talk about the sounds that males make.
Sounds of this origin are divided into two types - directional
and related. Accompanying sounds are produced by the plumage and wings of the bird.
during takeoff, flight and landing. Arriving at the current in the evening, the bird, noisily clapping
with wings sits first from the edge. After that, the capercaillie changes its
location, moreover, does it several times - flies from tree to tree,
making the characteristic noise of the wings "po-po-po", each time it sits on a new tree
with a bang. Capercaillie do this on purpose so that other males know
that this site is already occupied, because they can completely silently sit on a tree,
and then take off. Therefore, on the evening approach, the sound of landing is not only
accompanying meaning, but also a directional sound signal, for example, a hunter
can determine by the sound how many males flew to the lek and where they are
approximately located. Sometimes a loud rally from a tree wears
danger warning signal. Capercaillie belongs to the grouse family,
which means that on the wing next to the carpal fold there is a small feather, which is attached to
phalanx of the 1st finger. Spreading or removing this feather, the capercaillie either takes off
loud or quiet.
If you are located "on the ear" close to the crouched
capercaillie, you can hear how he fumbles and tearing off bunches of needles, crunches.
To tear off a bunch of needles, the swindler first folds his neck, then presses his head,
and then it abruptly throws it forward, grabbing a bunch of needles with its beak and tearing it off
his. All this, of course, is accompanied by a characteristic noise that comes from the crown.
tree.
The capercaillie has two directional sounds that accompany
his spring song. One of the sounds is the "rattling" of tail feathers during
2nd generation of the song. Near this sound is heard
like a quiet “purrr”, upon hearing such a sound, the hunter must stop, even if
the bird is not visible. The capercaillie produces the second directional sound during the song “on
floor”, replacing the deaf part of the song, flies up to 1-1.5 m and flaps its wings loudly. Hearing these sounds, the hunter must
stop, because according to the law he has no right to shoot tokoviks on the ground.
There are protective and invocative voice sounds. During
Calling sounds facilitate the meeting of birds of opposite sexes. More
In addition, they help males to defend not only their right to territory, but also to
females, thereby contributing to the reproduction and reproduction of the population. spring
demonstrative song, consisting of several knees or parts, has a large
meaning, it is performed by an adult male. The song starts with a single click
“dock”, which can immediately turn into a double click “te-ke”, or
repeated several times, it all depends on whether the singer is old or young,
fluffed up or not. During such singing, the male always turns from the side
to the side of your head, making sure that there is no danger nearby, as this
time he hears and sees perfectly. Given this, it is better for the hunter to keep quiet and
immobility.
Repeated double "te-ke" can quickly develop into
fraction or in a continuous click. The click of a capercaillie can be compared with a quick strike
table tennis ball on the table. At the end of the fraction, you can hear "main
blow”, and then deafness occurs in the capercaillie, which is not heard in everyone
capercaillie individuals. The main impact is similar to the gurgling sound that is created when
pulling the cork out of a small bottle. As reported in the literature
sources, the main blow is created when the tongue is pulled into the larynx. After
the main blow is "grinding" or "turning". Turning is a blind part
songs that the capercaillie publishes. In this case, the capercaillie loses completely its
hearing, thanks to which the hunter can approach him by 1-2 steps. Average
turning takes about 2.6 seconds. The sound of turning can be compared to the sound that
emanates when sharpening a metal object, which is probably why he received
such a name. Capercaillie during turning straightens steering feathers, complementing
song with a ringing sound coming from the feather, while the tail is in a raised
condition.
Capercaillie have other calling signals that can
carry important information. While planting on a tree in the evening, a male capercaillie
publishes "groaning", which is also called "grunting" and even "burping". The male makes this sound in order to
other males realized that this place was occupied by a rival ready to fight.
Such a sound is made exclusively by mature males, who can perform a full
song. Hearing the “creaking” of a bird on the ear, the hunter understands that in the morning
capercaillie will definitely sing. But the hunter
must be able to distinguish between “croaking” and “creaking” or “cracking” of young roosters, they are also called crackers. Silent people
(young roosters) arrive at the lek in the morning and, as a rule, land near the periphery of the lek. On current
young roosters serve as a kind of "watchmen", so it is better to bypass them
side. They are unable to sing a real song.
Wood grouse emit protective signals in order to notify
other capercaillie about possible danger, as well as to scare off enemies.
The alarm signal of the capercaillie is sometimes heard on the current - such a signal is called
"squirming". The wood grouse emits such a signal
when he sees a clear danger to current workers. When approaching, for example,
a singing capercaillie, if you make a noise of a silent man, who then flies through the current
with a loud “skirting” and a clatter of wings, then all the capercaillie will fall silent and sooner
All in all, they won't sing any more this morning. Therefore, if the hunter hears the screeching
capercaillie, then he needs to disguise himself as best as possible so as not to give out his
presence.
Sometimes, in the midst of the current, you can hear a screech - more
one kind of signal. This sound refers to uncontrollable screams.
fear that birds emit when they feel mortal danger. Usually
such a sound is made by a defeated opponent who participated in a duel, in that
the moment when the winner beats his wings and pats his neck with his beak. Other
males, having heard such a sound, flock to the place of the fight, in order to
be at the center of events. The wounded capercaillie, which the hunter caught on
earth, also makes such a cry.