# Western capercaillie (*Tetrao urogallus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-capercaillie  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.85 kg – 4.17 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.06 m |
| Lifespan | 18 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 25 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 7.3 – 8 |
| Age at maturity | 2.49 years – 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Galliformes
- family: Phasianidae
- genus: Tetrao
- species: *Tetrao urogallus* Linnaeus, 1758

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-capercaillie