Black grouse
Lyrurus tetrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
The black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), also called the Eurasian black grouse, is a bird in the family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial, sedentary herbivore of forest habitat, with an adult body mass of 1.07 kg and a wingspan of 72 cm.
Quick facts about the black grouse
It lays one clutch of 8 eggs per year, incubates them for 26 days, and reaches sexual maturity at 1.1 years. The IUCN Red List classifies it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its geographic range covers 14,010,000 km².
- Weight
- 925 g – 1.25 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 72 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 12.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 12.3 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 15 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the black grouse?
Photos of the black grouse
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Where does the black grouse live?
Not recorded
What is the black grouse?
The black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large bird in the grouse tribe. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and steppe habitat when breeding, often near wooded areas. They will spend the winter perched in dense forests, feeding almost exclusively on the needles of conifers. The black grouse is one of two species of grouse in the genus Lyrurus, the other being the lesser-known Caucasian grouse.
The female is greyish-brown and has a cackling or warbling call. She takes all responsibility for nesting and caring for the chicks, as typical with most galliforms.
The black grouse's genome was sequenced in 2014.
From the Wikipedia article “Black grouse” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_grouse&oldid=1371788242), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black grouse endangered?
The black grouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the black grouse classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusLyrurus
- SpeciesLyrurus tetrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Lyurus tetrix, Tetrao empetrum
Other names and names in other languages (113)
- Eurasian black grouseEnglish
- طيهوج أسودArabic
- طيهوج أسود أوراسيArabic
- grévol rauforcáuAsturian
- ЦецярукBelarusian
- Цецярук палявыBelarusian
- ТетревBulgarian
- Skilgog duBreton
- gall de cua forcadaCatalan
- КӹдӹрMari
- ĂсанChuvash
- Ахаль ӑсанChuvash
- tetřívek obecnýCzech
- Zwëczajny cetrzéwKashubian
- Ceiliog DuWelsh
- Ceiliog y MynyddWelsh
- Ceiliog y RhosWelsh
- Grugiar DduWelsh
- Grugieir DuWelsh
- Iâr FraithWelsh
- Iâr y MynyddWelsh
- UrfuglDanish
- BirkhahnGerman
- BirkhuhnGerman
- BirkwildGerman
- Kleiner SpielhahnGerman
- Schwarzer RitterGerman
- Kerga bırriZaza
- Źiwa kokošLower Sorbian
- ΛυροπετεινόςGreek
- TetroEsperanto
- Lira tetroEsperanto
- tetra tetraonoEsperanto
- Gallo liraSpanish
- Gallo lira comúnSpanish
- tederEstonian
- Lira-oilarBasque
- سیاهخروس سیاهPersian
- teeriFinnish
- Tétras lyreFrench
- Coq des bouleauxFrench
- Petit coq de bruyèreFrench
- Petit tétrasFrench
- Gjal forcelFriulian
- KuorhinWestern Frisian
- LiathchearcIrish
- coilch dhubhScottish Gaelic
- coileach dubhScottish Gaelic
- Galo liraGalician
- Kellagh dooManx
- שכווי שחורHebrew
- Mali tetrijebCroatian
- tetrijeb ruševacCroatian
- BrězanUpper Sorbian
- nyírfajdHungarian
- OrriIcelandic
- Gallo forcelloItalian
- Fagiano di monteItalian
- クロライチョウJapanese
- ТафэмысырджэдKabardian
- Кÿркÿkjn
- ҚұрKazakh
- 멧닭Korean
- Culyek duCornish
- Кара курKyrgyz
- gial foschLadino
- BierkhongLuxembourgish
- TetervinasLithuanian
- eurazinis tetervinasLithuanian
- RubynsLatgalian
- rubenisLatvian
- кӱдырMari
- мал тетребMacedonian
- ХурMongolian
- ခြေမွေးမဲ့ရစ်နက်Burmese
- Вирь саразErzya
- OrrhaneNorwegian Bokmål
- OrrhøneNorwegian Bokmål
- KorhoenDutch
- orrfuglNorwegian
- gal salvatgeOccitan
- CietrzewPolish
- cietrzew (zwyczajny)Polish
- Cietrzew zwyczajnyPolish
- Galo-liraPortuguese
- tetraz-liraPortuguese
- CotRomansh
- Cocoş de mesteacănRomanian
- Cocoș de mesteacănRomanian
- ТетеревRussian
- Полевой тетеревRussian
- Тетерев-косачRussian
- КуртуйахYakut
- HurriNorthern Sami
- hurrečukčáNorthern Sami
- TetervėnsSamogitian
- tetrov hoľniakSlovak
- ruševecSlovenian
- Gjeli i egër bishtlirëAlbanian
- RuševacSerbian
- РушевацSerbian
- Mali - МалиSerbian
- CirolittaSardinian
- orreSwedish
- ОзанTatar
- Orman HorozuTurkish
- Kara orman tavuğuTurkish
- КүртүTuvinian
- ТетерукUkrainian
- тетерук євразійськийUkrainian
- TedrVeps
- 黑琴雞Chinese
- 黑琴鸡Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black grouse
Other species in the same genus Lyrurus.
Caucasian grouse
Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the black grouse?
The black grouse is a bird in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes.
How heavy is a black grouse?
An adult black grouse weighs 1.07 kg, with reported values from 925 g to 1.246 kg.
What does the black grouse eat?
The black grouse is a herbivore.
What habitat does the black grouse live in?
The black grouse lives in forest habitat and has a terrestrial lifestyle.
Is the black grouse endangered?
No. The black grouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a black grouse live?
The black grouse has a lifespan of 12.2 years, with values up to 12.25 years reported.
How many eggs does a black grouse lay?
The black grouse lays 8 eggs per clutch, with one clutch per year, and the eggs are incubated for 26 days.
Who named the black grouse?
The black grouse, Lyrurus tetrix, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-grouse
“Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-grouse.
@misc{black_grouse_2026,
title = {Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-grouse},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}