Capercaillie

    Tetrao urogallus

Castilian: Urogallo común

Catalan: Gall fer

Gallego: Pita do monte

Euskera: Basoilarra

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Galliformes

Family: Tetraonidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, the aquitanicus subspecies appears in the “Vulnerable” category and the cantabricus subspecies in the “In Danger of Extinction” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Endangered”.

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THREATS

The alteration of its habitat, the excess of herbivores, the increase in predatores, illegal hunting, human disturbances in leks, etc.

Length / size: 55-90 cm / 70-125 cm

Identification: Robust bird with marked sexual dimorphism. The male's plumage is mostly black with a metallic green breast, brown wings with a white spot at the base, a bone-coloured bill, a red forehead and grey feathered legs.

Song: Generally silent. During courtship, the male makes a quiet "tak tak" sound.

Diet: In winter it feeds on holly leaves and buds from birch, beech and heather trees. During the rest of the year it consumes blueberry leaves and fruits, on which it depends greatly. Its diet also includes juniper, bearberries, and blackberries, among other fruits.

Reproduction: The breeding cycle runs from March to September. Between March and June, courtship begins: the male goes to the leks and exhibits himself with his tail unfurled, his head lifted, his neck inflated, his beard stiff and his wings dropped. The female chooses the male and, from that point on, is responsible for rearing. It builds the nest on the ground next to a tree, and it covers it with vegetation and feathers. The chicks leave the nest immediately after hatching, but they follow their parents and are capable of feeding alone.

HABITAT

It occupies matures forests with deciduous leaves, such as beech groves, oak groves, birch groves, etc.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: A distinction should be made between the cantabricus subspecies, which is endemic to the Cantabrian Mountains and is located between Asturias and León, and the aquitanicus subspecies, native to the Pyrenees, which can be found in the north and the south.

In Castile and León: It currently only breeds in León.

Movements and migrations: It only makes short-distance movements.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 1878-1978 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: