Black grouse in Polissia
Lyrurus tetrix
Red Data Book of Ukraine: endangered
The black grouse is a bird the size of a chicken. The male is black with a blue sheen, red “eyebrows”, white patches on the wings and a lyre-shaped tail. The female is reddish-brown with a mottled pattern.
In Polissia the black grouse lives on the edges of raised and transitional bogs, on old clearings and burnt areas where open patches, birch and pine meet. It occurs in the Polissia and Rivne nature reserves.
In spring the males gather in open places at leks. They bubble, hiss, fan their tails and jump, often for several hours on end from dawn. In winter black grouse spend the night burrowed into the snow, and by day feed on birch buds.
Because of bog drainage and the overgrowing of open areas, black grouse have become fewer in Polissia, and the species is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. Leks should only be watched from afar, from a hide, so as not to disrupt the birds' spring activity.
When to see: April–May – leks at dawn; in autumn and winter in small flocks in birches
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990. Locations are shown approximately, to within 10 km.
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