Lyrurus tetrix

Medium body, about the size of a chicken. The male bird is almost completely black, with white wing mirrors; its tail is forked, and the outer tail feathers are long and curved outward. The female bird is slightly smaller, mostly brown, with dark brown horizontal spots. The white wing mirrors are not visible on the wings. The tail is also forked, but the fork is not large, and the outer tail feathers do not curve outward. The metallic luster is brighter, especially on the neck. There is a white patch on the wings called a wing mirror. What is unique is its 18 dark brown tail feathers. The outermost three pairs are particularly extended and curved outward in a sickle shape. They are very similar to the shape of a Western guqin, so it is also called the "black pheasant". The iris is brown; the mouth and toes are dark brown; the bare skin on the legs is orange.
Size measurements: weight ♂1600g, ♀1000g; body length ♂540-610 mm, ♀446-490 mm; bill peak ♂25-32 mm, ♀20-28 mm; wing

The black grouse is a forest-dwelling bird of larch and mixed forests. It can be found in pure coniferous forests, forest-steppes, meadows, and forest valleys. It mainly inhabits coniferous forests, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, or forest-steppe areas. Its inhabiting altitude is generally 600-900 meters, and sometimes reaches an altitude of about 1,500 meters. It particularly likes to move in larch forests, Scots pine forests, and mixed forests composed of birch forests, poplar forests, and other broad-leaved forests. It often appears in open spaces near forests, forest meadows, forest-steppes, and near streamside bushes. It is also seen in young forests and small island-shaped woodlands separated by open spaces between forests (logging land, rotten wood, and fallen woods overgrown with bushes). And along rivers with dense bushes.

The Black Grouse is divided into 7 subspecies according to feather color and body shape. There are 3 subspecies in China, namely Xinjiang subspecies, northern subspecies and northeastern subspecies. There are differences in the body feathers of these 3 subspecies. The difference in the body feathers of the Xinjiang subspecies is more obvious, while the other two subspecies are more similar. In terms of body shape, the northeastern subspecies is the largest, and the Xinjiang subspecies is the smallest.

Black grouse is a sedentary bird. It wanders in winter for food, especially those living in mountainous areas. The Greater Khingan Range black grouse often wanders for hundreds of kilometers in winter for seasonal food, and the wandering route is uncertain. In the vicinity of Yakeshi and Hailar on the west side of the Greater Khingan Range, they mainly inhabit birch forests, valleys and both sides of rivers in winter, where there is plenty of sunshine, high temperatures, and buds and young branches of broad-leaved trees. They are also often seen in wheat fields after harvest.

Black grouse often move in groups, each group consisting of a few, dozens, or even hundreds of individuals, which varies with the season, the amount of food, and the surrounding environment. In spring, they move around in a larger area, mostly feeding on the ground. In summer, they move around on the ground near the nesting area, and sometimes also in trees, but their range of activities is smaller. In autumn, they leave the breeding area and form groups of varying numbers to wander around. When winter comes, the mountains are covered with heavy snow and the climate is cold. The lowest temperature in the forest is below -40℃, but black grouse still wander between the riverside and the valley. Their black feathers can absorb a large amount of sunlight and heat, increasing their ability to resist the cold. They rarely move around, only foraging in valleys with abundant food at 2 or 3 pm when the sun is bright. At dusk, they dig a snow nest with a diameter of 30-40 cm in the snow with their claws, blocking the biting cold wind and falling asleep to adapt to the harsh environment. Black grouse are good at running and flying, and have various postures for feeding on trees. They are not very alert, and will not fly away even if someone walks under the tree when they are on the tree.

Black grouse mainly eats plant food, and also eats insects in summer. Generally speaking, the young branches, leaves, buds, inflorescences (birch, alder, willow, etc.), fruits and berries (such as blueberries) of trees and shrubs are the main food; insects (mainly ants and lepidoptera larvae) and weed seeds, grains, etc. are supplementary food.

The black grouse reaches sexual maturity in about one year, and one male mates with multiple females during reproduction. The Greater Khingan Range is in estrus in early to mid-April, and some are in late March. When in estrus, the flocks of birds break up, and the mating sites are generally selected from the sparse woodlands of poplars and birches or the edge of the forest, the shade of the woods, the open space in the forest, the clearings between scattered trees and shrubs, the felled land, the forest valley, and sometimes the fields and grasslands close to the forest, the wooded areas along the river or the meadows. It estrus in the morning and evening, more at dawn, and after several or a dozen male birds fly to the mating site, they begin to sing, making special and high-pitched calls when courting. The tail feathers spread vertically upward in a fan shape, the wings droop, the head and neck are bent down close to the ground, and they run straight forward, sometimes swinging their heads left and right, and jumping up from time to time to fight with other male birds. Because of the competition for mates, they chase each other and run in a circle, commonly known as "running in a circle". When running in a circle, the male bird calls "gulp, gulp, gulp" and spits out white foam from its mouth. Sometimes the female bird follows behind, making a "sha-sha-sha" sound. The female bird's tail is tucked down, the tip of the tail drags on the ground, and it moves forward with its chest held high, and pecks at the white foam spit out by the male bird.

After mating, the male bird leaves, and the female bird builds a nest and lays eggs near the mating site from early May to the end of May. The nest is built in a hidden place near the birch, poplar, pine or linden forest, directly on the ground under the tree or under the bushes; there are also fallen trees or in the grass. The nest is very simple, a small pit, the pit is 30 cm deep, the nest is 5-10 cm deep, the nest is 15-25 cm in diameter, and the nest is covered with dead branches, fallen leaves, hay and feathers. The number of eggs is 4-13, with 8-10 eggs being the most common. The eggs are light ochre with dark brown spots of varying sizes, and some are spotless. The egg weighs 27.6-36 grams, and the egg size is 34-38×45-50 mm. The incubation period is 19-25 days. The newly hatched chicks are yellow, similar to the female bird, with broad central longitudinal stripes on the shoulder feathers and back feathers. After 1-2 days, the chicks can run around to find food. After 10 days, the chicks can flap their wings, and after one month, they can fly short distances.

Although the distribution range of the black grouse is very large, its habitat is discontinuous and isolated. This is also true in China. The population numbers in various places have declined to varying degrees, mainly due to excessive hunting. The population density in the Greater Khingan Range is only 0.00035 per hectare. Fortunately, in Weichang County, Hebei Province, a large population of black grouse is still living in this "enclave" where black grouse are distributed, with a total of more than 4,000 individuals.

Listed in the 2016 Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC).

Listed in China's national key protection level: Level 2 Effective year: 1989.

China's Red Book of Endangered Animals Level: Vulnerable Effective year: 1996

Listed in the first level of the "List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection in China".

Protect wild animals and stop eating game.

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