Caucasian Grouse
Tetrao mlokosiewiczi
See Plate 20 for Caucasian Grouse and other similar species
Resident Status: |
Year-round resident |
Abundance: |
Uncommon |
Length: | 38-52 cm, Wing Span:58-62 cm
|
Distribution Map: |
Map 89. |
Adult: |
Male is glossy black with a bright red comb over the eye and small white shoulder patch. Tail is long and divided with the tips curving down and outward. Females are yellow-brown intricately barred with gray and black above; breast and belly gray barred with black and yellow-brown. |
Juvenile: |
Closely resembles adult female. |
Behavior: |
Feeds in meadows above deciduous woodlands and in groves of Mountain Ash and Birch. Dust bathes on dirt tracks. In spring, males display to females in groups. |
Habitat: |
Edge of subalpine meadows, birch groves, rhododendron thickets at 1500-2500 m; slightly lower elevations in winter. |
Food: |
Seeds, berries, buds, catkins. |
Nest: |
Shallow ground scrape lined with grass and feathers under shrub or in dense vegetation. |
Eggs: |
51 mm, 2-10, yellow-white, red-brown spots. |