Western capercaillie
Tetrao urogallus Linnaeus, 1758
The western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), also called wood grouse, is a bird in the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. It is a medium-sized bird with a representative adult body mass of 2.7 kg, a reported range from 1.8 to 4.2 kg, and a wingspan of 1.06 m.
Quick facts about the western capercaillie
This sedentary herbivore lives in forest habitats, and its geographic range covers 11,330,000 km². It lays one clutch of 8 eggs per year, incubates them for 25 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 1.85 kg – 4.17 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.06 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 18 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 25 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7.3 – 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.49 years – 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the western capercaillie?
Photos of the western capercaillie
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the western capercaillie live?
Not recorded
What is the western capercaillie?
The western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse tribe and the largest of all extant grouse species. Found across Europe and the Palearctic, this primarily-ground-dwelling forest grouse is renowned for its courtship display. The bird shows extreme sexual dimorphism, with males nearly twice the size of females. The global population is listed as "least concern" under the IUCN, although the populations of central Europe are declining and fragmented, or possibly extirpated.
The western capercaillie is one of two living species under the genus Tetrao, which also includes the lesser-known black-billed capercaillie.
From the Wikipedia article “Western capercaillie” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_capercaillie&oldid=1371626521), 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.
What does the western capercaillie sound like?
Is the western capercaillie endangered?
The western capercaillie 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. What the categories mean.
How is the western capercaillie classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusTetrao
- SpeciesTetrao urogallus Linnaeus, 1758
Other names and names in other languages (116)
- CapercaillieEnglish
- CapercaillieEnglish
- Eurasian capercaillieEnglish
- Wood grouseEnglish
- ديك الخلنج الغربيArabic
- ديك الخلنج الأوراسيArabic
- AurónAragonese
- GalluAsturian
- faisánAsturian
- gallu de monteAsturian
- gallu montésAsturian
- ГӀансаAvaric
- ҺуйырBashkir
- ГлушэцBelarusian
- ГлухарBulgarian
- Skilgog meurBreton
- Gall ferCatalan
- gall fer comúCatalan
- КъоракуотамChechen
- СузыMari
- Ахаль карӑкChuvash
- Ахаль карăкChuvash
- tetřev hlušecCzech
- Ceiliog coedWelsh
- Grugiar CoedWelsh
- Grugiar y CoedWelsh
- Grugieir y CoedWelsh
- TjurDanish
- AuerhahnGerman
- AuerhuhnGerman
- AuerwildGerman
- Großer SpielhahnGerman
- Źiwa kokošLower Sorbian
- ΑγριόκουρκοςGreek
- (Δυτικός) ΑγριόκουρκοςGreek
- UrogaloEsperanto
- urogala tetraonoEsperanto
- Urogallo comúnSpanish
- mõtusEstonian
- MetsisEstonian
- metsis e. mõtusEstonian
- BasoilarBasque
- metsoFinnish
- Grand TétrasFrench
- Grand coq de bruyèreFrench
- ForcelFriulian
- Capall coilleIrish
- capall-coilleScottish Gaelic
- capaill-choilleScottish Gaelic
- Pita do monteGalician
- Cabbyl keylleyManx
- שכווי ענקHebrew
- שכו-י ענקHebrew
- TetrijebCroatian
- tetrijeb gluhanCroatian
- BrězanUpper Sorbian
- siketfajdHungarian
- TetrasoIdo
- ÞiðurIcelandic
- UrogalloItalian
- Gallo cedroneItalian
- ヨーロッパオオライチョウJapanese
- Силей ииkjn
- Меңіреу құрKazakh
- Саңырау құрKazakh
- ДозмӧрKomi-Permyak
- Агъач тауукъKarachay-Balkar
- TadriKarelian
- Colyek corsCornish
- gial griscLadino
- Gial foschlld
- vakarinis kurtinysLithuanian
- KurtinysLithuanian
- mednisLatvian
- сузоMari
- голем тетребMacedonian
- Эгэл сойрMongolian
- СувозейErzya
- RøyNorwegian Bokmål
- TiurNorwegian Bokmål
- AuerhoenDutch
- storfuglNorwegian
- PollambèrtOccitan
- głuszec (zwyczajny)Polish
- GłuszecPolish
- tetraz-realPortuguese
- Tetraz-grandePortuguese
- CotRomansh
- Cocoş de munteRomanian
- Cocoș de munteRomanian
- Cocoșul de munteRomanian
- ГлухарьRussian
- Чакыр уларYakut
- ČukčáNorthern Sami
- beahceloddiNorthern Sami
- čukčá (varis)Northern Sami
- girjošNorthern Sami
- goahppil (njiŋŋelas)Northern Sami
- hlucháň hôrnySlovak
- divji petelinSlovenian
- Gjeli i egërAlbanian
- Veliki tetrebSerbian
- Gluhan / ГлуханSerbian
- Puddu cedroneSardinian
- tjäderSwedish
- ÇalihorozuTurkmen
- Büyük Orman TavuğuTurkish
- Кара-кушTuvinian
- ДукъяUdmurt
- ГлушецьUkrainian
- глушець білодзьобийUkrainian
- Cok di brouhireWalloon
- 松雞Chinese
- 松鸡Chinese
- 西方松雞Chinese
- 西方松鸡Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the western capercaillie
Other species in the same genus Tetrao.
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CompareWestern capercaillie vs Black-billed capercaillieWestern capercaillie vs Tetrao gibraltaricusWestern capercaillie vs Tetrao kakelikWestern capercaillie vs Tetrao marilandicus
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 western capercaillie?
The western capercaillie is a bird in the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae.
How heavy is the western capercaillie?
Its representative adult body mass is 2.7 kg, with reported values from 1.8 to 4.2 kg. Its wingspan is 1.06 m.
What does the western capercaillie eat?
The western capercaillie is a herbivore.
What habitat does the western capercaillie live in?
It lives in forest habitats and is sedentary.
Is the western capercaillie endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the western capercaillie live?
Its lifespan is given as 18 years.
How many eggs does the western capercaillie lay?
It lays a clutch of 8 eggs, one clutch per year, and the eggs are incubated for 25 days.
Who named the western capercaillie?
Tetrao urogallus was named by Linnaeus in 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). Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-capercaillie
“Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-capercaillie.
@misc{western_capercaillie_2026,
title = {Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-capercaillie},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}