Treetop hens
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Black grouse.
| Black grouse | Teder |
Grouse hens are about the same weight as our domestic hens, both around a kilo. Didn’t we notice them in summer when trees were in leaf? – no, then they looked for food on the ground. Towards autumn black grouse gather in small flocks, many eyes in the bare trees discover threats better. The brown overall impression of the grouse hens’ plumage blends nicely into nature; the breast, underside and tail are patterned in brown, grey and black. Modest and elegant. Winter food is birch catkins and buds. On the ground corn fields are visited.
In autumn horny outgrowths or scales appear on the feet; the "hairy feet” disappear in spring with the snow from the forest. An assumption is that the scales increase the surface area of the feet in winter, making life easier when for instance overnight shelters have to be scooped out in snow.
The cock wears his stylish metal-shimmering breeding plumage already from September
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