Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
About the Western Capercaillie
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. The global population is listed as "least concern" under the IUCN, although the populations of central Europe are declining and fragmented, or possibly extirpated. The western capercaillie is one of two living species under the genus Tetrao, which also includes the lesser-known black-billed capercaillie.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 229 recordings for this species: 1 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- Barn SwallowHirundo rusticarecording
- Black GrouseLyrurus tetrixrecording
- Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochrurosrecording
- Black WoodpeckerDryocopus martiusrecording
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusrecording
- BluethroatLuscinia svecicarecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.