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Western capercaillie

The largest wild hen in Slovenia.

Usually alert and well aware, the wild cockerel is almost oblivious to its surroundings as it goes about its mating calls and displays. He raises his head, fluffs up his tail and the feathers under his head and tries to convince the female that he is the best of the males by clucking, hooting, cracking, grinding ... and other characteristic calls.

Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)

Size	to 85 cm
Weight	from 5 kg
Diet	insects, berries, grasses, tree and shrub buds, conifer needles
Habitat	Europe and central Asia; in Slovenia it is found in the Alps

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Galliformes
Family	Phasianidae
Genus	Tetrao
Species	T. urogallus

The wild cock lives in areas with dense vegetation and undergrowth above 800 metres above sea level. Before mating, the female is coaxed by the cock's distinctive crowing and display.

The mating season of the Cockatiel begins in early spring, i.e. from March to sometime in mid-May.

Several males gather on the site to show off their attributes. Sometimes there are real fights between the males. At the beginning, there is a competition between the males only, but in the end the female chooses her mate. After the mating, the male leaves and the female takes care of the offspring.

The female lays 6 to 12 light brown pea-shaped eggs in a simple nest on the ground, in tall grass or in ferns. They hatch for about a month. As soon as the chicks hatch, they forage for food with their mother, and huddle close to her when it is cold.

The young of the wild cockerel need a lot of protein, so they eat wood ants and other insects.

The proportion of plant food increases later, with adults feeding on berries, leaves, buds, grass and, in winter, almost exclusively on conifer needles.

The western capercaillie lives in areas where there is a lot of dense vegetation and undergrowth at altitudes above 800 metres. It lives in coniferous and mixed forests. In Slovenia, it is found in the Alps, but it also lives elsewhere in Europe and in central Asia.

And what does it look like? The female and the male are very different. At up to 85 cm and weighing up to 5 kg, the male is the largest cotingas in our country. The feathers are black on the head, turning to a dark brown on the back and a distinctive dark green on the chest. Above the eyes it has eyebrow-like feathers in red, and on the crest of the wing it has larger white spot-like feathers. Females are not so colourful. They are characterised by a pea-brown colour.

The Western capercaillie is a protected animal in Slovenia.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Wild Rooster loves blueberries.
A typical phenomenon in wild rooster populations is the phenomenon of the so-called "crazy roosters". These are roosters that show no innate fear of humans.