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I'm watching a show called Wild Russia on Planet Green. They were in the Euro'sUrals. They showed a "black grouse" that resembled our prairie chicken. The male was black with white and did a mating dance like the prairie chicken. The female looked like a regular prairie chicken, best I could recall.

Geno coulda told us a bit more, I'm sure.

Chuck, there are not other "Black grouses" in Rusia then the one you find F.E. in Scotland or else.
I hunt in Russia, they have capercaille but this is 3 X bigger then black grouse.
Can you give the exact place or location in Russia, because the country is big.
Marc.

Marc,
Yes, the bird was a black grouse from the Urals. They showed the mating dance. Apparently the same bird as the Scottish black grouse. Also, apparently rare?

The region they showed was apparently all over the Ural mountain range. They showed the "7 Brothers" rock formation as well.

The same bird can be found in England and Scotland too. I saw quite a few when I was in a part of Scotland deer stalking last year. The blackcock is the male and the greyhen is the female. The Capercaille is a big bird and quite vocal. They occour in some parts of Scotland and across Scandinavia. Lagopus.....

And "Capercaille" means something like "dance party" in the Scots version of Gaelic, once called "Urse" by the English (maybe they couldn't pronounce "Irish"?).

The " Horse of the Woods" Estonia, two years ago.

This bird is a classic quarry for hunting over bird dogs in late summer and early fall, and with laika dogs in the late fall (the laikas tree them and attract the hunter's attention by barking, the hunter stalks and shoots). It can also be decoyed, when they gather together in flocks for the winter, or flushed from the snow holes they dig to spend the night in. The population can decrease and increase dramatically, depending mostly on three factors: the intensive agriculture with generous use of fertilizers and pesticides (the introduction of it almost wiped the bird out in 1970's, and the decay brought the bird back in the 1990's); the weather in winter (the birds spend the night in the snow, and a sudden drop of the temp. from above to below freezing point forms a shell of ice the birds can't break); the predation from racoon dogs and, surprisingly, wild pigs. Where I live, black grouse inhabits only limited areas, and is only legal to hunt in spring, on special license (only males are legal, and since the bird is polygamous, this is supposed to have almost zero effect on the population), and I've never hunted it. But around St. Peterburg blackcocks are quite numerous, and Grigory will surely be able to tell you more.

A very poor picture of a blackcock on a misty morning in Scotland:

Lagopus, that's a FINE photo! Realism: you even didn't airbrush out the mud puddle he was drinking out of or the gravel he was fillin' his craw with. Gets the mist and the heather just right, too.

(You don't have to actually say "misty morning" when speaking about Scotland--my experience is that they're all "misty" from misty like that to misty like the bottom of the sea! Just "morning in Scotland" will do....).

Mike A and Lagopus, I think that picture is a wonderful one with perfect color. Much more realism than a very sunny day.

Archibald Thorburn

Well, here's an even poorer one showing a blackcock on the track and a greyhen just taking off. I took it out of the vehicle windscreen with a little digital as I was driving up to where I was going to for deer.

How rate as table fare, please.

Black cock tail feathers used to be part of the head gear worn by the highland regiments. Now, I believe, mostly restricted to the regimental pipers and when in full dress uniform.

http://tinyurl.com/6w3zere
http://tinyurl.com/86bnngr

A notch below wood grouse, as much as I can judge.

all wonderful photos... the "horse of the woods" is however, outstanding!

Hallo Sirs,

thank you Humpty Dumpty you remember me even I have not been here long time .
Re. this topic . Here are showen two kind of birds . First of all it is blackcock .And he livers as at the forest at the fild and also at swamps . Here at Russia we have a hunting to male of it during spring time at the moment of wedding dancing of it . I never been at this huntings .But I have seen this dances a lot but not so many birds at one place . And also during second halve of summer with pointing dogs to male and mostly to youngs when they little bite grow up but anyhow to keep a dog .I did it as I have dog - drahthaar .
During winter time usefull hunting when birds sleep at snow caverns .

And second bird - hourse of the forest - capercaillie .
Also we have hunting during spring time and it is very special as you have jump to it during night or earist morning and you have just few moments during few notes of male song . Also you could make few jumps at this moment .
Also during autumn with dogs , specialy with laika as Humpty Dumpty have wright upper .
And an other one beside of it .
As I remember we had such king of topic any time ago here.
All this huntings very sportive . But some people prefer to keep out from hunting during spring to capercaillie specialy at European part of Russia as here it is become rare .

Gregoriy, yes, here in England the blackcock dance is known as Lekking. There has been a lot of work near me to get the blackcock numbers up again as they were getting rare. They are usually driven to waiting guns like red grouse or else walked up and flushed and shot. I quite like the idea that I have seen in Finland where the birds are shot with .22 Hornet rifles and solid bullets. Lagopus.....

Our dear departed friend, Geno with Capercaille.

That is beautiful! I gotta put that on my Bird Bucket List!

I was in Bavaria about 10 years ago on business with my main hunting partner who happens to be my brother and business partner. We went for a drive into the Austrian Alps on a free day and stopped at a roadside restaurant. Inside were several mounts of Capercaille and I have been infatuated with them ever since. Magnificent birds!

Can hardly imagine seeing a live one, but like you HammerGuy, it's on the bucket list.

I have seen them while at my wifes grandfathers cabin in Norway. Real cool birds!

As I recall the story, Geno stalked that bird for some time, possibly a couple hours, moving forward over noisy crunchy snow only when the bird was distracted by doing his singing.

A rare and magnificent trophy.

I hope it will work :
http://youtu.be/6BCXssFl7RQ
http://youtu.be/JIyd04dwn7g
http://youtu.be/VDUH10J-yag

Gregoriy, Fantastic videos. Thank you.

Did you take those videos? Are those three different birds? Are they often so bold?

Gregoriy, thanks for the link to that site.

A question, I guess it is the strutting (mating) season and this bird is strutting for a mate, and do they become that aggresive towards other potential threats like the humans? Also do they not see many people and are not afraid like some of our bird species here?

Again thanks, and have a wonderful Easter.

It is not my video I have got link from guy at huntclub.ru .
It is same one bird. It is strutting time - spring . It is not usually or better normal behaviour of this birds . Normally all time and also during this time this birds are very careful.

They do become agressive towards people on occasion. My wife talks about them being aggresive to people when hiking in the spring during the mating season.