Western Capercaillie

How to identify

Field marks

1. Male has dark gray to dark brown body feathers and a deep metallic-green breast
2. One bright red patch of bare skin above each eye
3. White patch at the bend of the wing
4. Legs and feet feathered

Male, female and young

Male much larger than female; female has brown upperparts with black and silver barring, and pale yellowish-brown underparts.

Voice

Male's courtship vocalization begins with double clicks like a bouncing table-tennis ball, accelerating into a popping sound like a champagne cork, followed by scraping sounds.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May · Most records: Finland, Andorra, Estonia

Western Capercaillie has been recorded at 26 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Inari – Kaamanen, Neljän Tuulen TupaFinland15 records
2. Vergi sadamEstonia7 records
3. Vall d'InclesAndorra3 records

Countries and regions with the most records

FinlandAndorraEstoniaSwedenNorwayLatviaRussiaAustria

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie, is a heavy member of the grouse tribe and the largest of all extant grouse species. Found across Europe and the Palearctic, this primarily-ground-dwelling forest grouse is renowned for its courtship display. The bird shows extreme sexual dimorphism, with males nearly twice the size of females.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions