The grouse bird differs from the rest of the chicken in the rather thick plumage of its nostrils, metatarsus and fingers. The exception is only hazel grouses in which the foot is not fully supported. In all black grouse, except for white partridges, horn fringes appear on the sides of the fingers in winter, which double the paw. All this helps them survive in the cold snowy forest. Grouse bird tolerates winter quite easily. They arrange thermal shelters in the snow, and use needles, catkins, buds and shoots as food. Horn fringes help them quickly dig into the chamber and facilitate movement in the winter forest; the thick plumage of the paws serves as a warm litter, and the nostril condenses moisture. The temperature in such a nest should be below 0 ° , therefore, if it rises a little higher, then the black grouse bird makes a ventilation hole in the ceiling.
Only capercaillie can afford it +2 ° , then the walls are icy. The sharp edges of the beak cover are called ramfotes, they allow you to cut and tear needles, shoots and buds. The very thick lining of the stomach, as well as the large number of stones that the bird swallows, and the very strong gastric muscle together act like real millstones.
Nutrition
In summer and spring, the main food is young greens and flowers, as well as shoots of grass and shrubs, and with the onset of autumn, grouse bird switches to berry food. They practically do not eat insects, but the farther south, the more they are used, especially the kids. The wings are quite short, slightly rounded, they allow birds to fly vertically, but are practically not suitable for long flights. The tail, as a rule, is of moderate length, slightly rounded.
Features
Grouse is a land bird. He spends the bulk of his life on earth or in the snow, but in the fall, it happens, he spends the night on trees. They move quite easily and can run very quickly. They feel quite confident on the trees, even if the branches are thin. Distributed in Eurasia and North America, except for its southwest and southeast. They nest even on the coast of Greenland. In the south, down to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, Japan and the Pyrenees. Most of them are forest birds, some species live in shrubs, and some are able to live even in the Arctic tundra.
And what kind of mating games does the grouse bird arrange? Photos of them can often be found in various magazines. Among them there are monogamous and polygamous (all like people!), The latter are characterized by group currenting. During it, males flock to special places where they perform complex rituals with special poses and sounds. Nests are built directly on the ground, as a rule, these are small recesses, a little lined with hay and plumage.
Conclusion
All grouse birds are very valuable examples of sports hunting, however, at the moment, many species are listed in the Red Book. The idea of them as ancient birds is erroneous, this is one of the youngest chicken families, although it is already quite numerous. It has about 19 species.