Hazel Grouse or Hazel Hen
Grouse
Backyard Habitat: Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden ... Bird Feeding Stations ... Nesting Habits of Wild Birds and Build-Your-Own Nesting Boxes ... Wild Bird Houses / Nests (Fancy & Practical) .... Water Fountains ... Bird Baths ...... Books, Videos, CDs & DVDs
The Hazel Grouse or Hazel Hen (Bonasa bonasia) is a large bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia and central and eastern Europe in dense, damp, mixed coniferous woodland, preferably with some spruce.
The nest is on the ground, and 3-6 eggs is the normal clutch size. The female takes all responsibility for incubating the eggs and caring for the chicks, as is typical with gamebirds.
This is a relatively small grouse at 35-39cm length. The plumage of this plump bird is finely patterned, but Hazel Grouse essentially has grey upperparts, brown wings and chestnut flecked white underparts.
The male has a short erectile crest and a white-bordered black throat. The female has a shorter crest and lacks the black throat. In flight, this species shows a black-tipped grey tail.
The male has a high-pitched ti-ti-ti-ti-ti call, and the female a liquid tettettettettet. The calls, or the burr of the flying birds' wings, are often the only indication of this grouse's presence, since its shyness and dense woodland habitat make it difficult to see.
This bird feeds on the ground, taking mainly plant food, supplemented by insects when breeding.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with the AvianWeb visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the AvianWeb Webmaster.
Photo contributions and articles are welcome!
