Caucasian Grouse

     The Caucasian Grouse is one of the most elusive and least studied of all Grouse species. It occurs in extreme south-eastern Europe and adjacent regions (the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountain region).

     The adult male Caucasian Grouse has black plumage, with a long, forked, downward-curving tail, and distinctive red eyebrow wattles. The undersides of the wings are white, but they are only visible in flight. Male Caucasian grouse are very similar in appearance to male Black Grouse. But in general, the Caucasian grouse lacks the white wing-bar and white under-tail coverts, that the male Black grouse have.

     The female Caucasian Grouse has grey-brown plumage, with fine, dark barring on the underparts and an almost square-ended tail. As with the male, she is similar in appearance to the female Black grouse. But the female Caucasian grouse has darker cheek patches, paler eyebrow stripes and finer barring.

     The Caucasian grouse have a group display or lek in May and June and unlike the male Eurasian Black grouse, its display is almost mute. The hen lays between two and ten eggs in a shallow ground scrape concealed by vegetation. Female Caucasian grouse incubate the eggs for 20 to 25 days. The chicks themselves will be able to fly for short distances within 10 to 14 days after hatching.