The black grouse or blackgame or blackcock (Tetrao tetrix) breeds across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland. The male has a blue/black plumage, with a distinctive red eyebrow wattle and white down each wing as it flies. The female is greyish-brown and has a cackling call. She takes all responsibility for nesting and caring for the chicks, as is typical with gamebirds. During the mating season, the males display on the breeding ground, or ‘lek’, at dawn. They raise their curved outer lyrate tail feathers and hunch forward to make a distinctive burbling call. Black grouse can be found across Europe, especially in the Swiss-Italian-French Alps.
