The black grouse

The black grouse lives here. It is also called the blackcock, a large bird the size of a hen. The male is black with a lyre-shaped tail. The female is russet-brown. It lives on north-facing slopes, around the forest edge. The female nests on the ground, near the meadows where protein-rich crickets nourish the nestling! In some alpine pasture, the breeding grounds are closed to flocks in order to prevent the eggs and chicks from being trampled.