Hazel grouse

Hazel grouse
Conservation status
	; Least Concern(IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Genus:	Tetrastes
Species:	T. bonasia
Binomial name
	Tetrastes bonasia; (Linnaeus,1758)
	Range ofT. bonasia
Synonyms
	Tetrao bonasiaLinnaeus, 1758; Bonasa bonasia(Linnaeus,1758);

Thehazel grouse(Tetrastes bonasia), sometimes called thehazel hen,is one of the smaller members of thegrousefamily ofbirds.It is a sedentaryspecies,breeding across thePalearcticas far east asHokkaido,and as far west as eastern and centralEurope,in dense, damp, mixedconiferouswoodland, preferably with somespruce.The bird is sometimes referred to as "rabchick" (from рябчик) by early 20th century English speaking travellers to Russia.^[3]

Description

This is a relatively small grouse at 35–39 cm (14–15 in) length. Theplumageof this plump bird is finely patterned, but it essentially has grey upperparts, brown wings and chestnut flecked white underparts.

The male has a short erectile crest and a white-bordered black throat. The female has a shorter crest and lacks the black color on the throat. In flight, this species shows a black-tipped grey tail.

The male has a high-pitchedti-ti-ti-ti-ticall, and the female a liquidtettettettettet.These calls, along with the burr of the flying birds' wings, are often the only indication of this grouse's presence, since its shyness and dense woodland habitat make it difficult to see.

Taxonomy

The hazel grouse has 11 recognized subspecies:^[4]

T. b. amurensis(Riley,1925)
T. b. bonasia(Linnaeus,1758)
T. b. griseonota(Salomonsen,1947)
T. b. kolymensis(Buturlin, 1916)
T. b.rhenanus(Kleinschmidt,1917)
T. b.rupestris(Brehm & CL, 1831)
T. b.schiebeli(Kleinschmidt,1943)
T. b.sibiricus(Buturlin, 1916)
T. b.styriacus(von Jordans & Schiebel, 1944)
T. b.vicinitas(Riley,1915)
T. b.yamashinai(Momiyama, 1928)

Feeding

This bird feeds on the ground, taking mainly plant food, supplemented byinsectswhen breeding.

Breeding

These birds nest on the ground, with 3–6eggsbeing the normalclutch size.The female incubates the eggs and cares for the chicks alone, as is typical with gamebirds.

References

^BirdLife International (2016)."Bonasa bonasia".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2016:e.T22679494A85936486.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679494A85936486.en.Retrieved4 June2022.
^Peterson, Alan P."Birds of the World — current valid scientific avian names".Retrieved27 January2010.
^"Chapter XXIV".
^Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 October 2021.

External links

BirdLife species factsheet forBonasa bonasia
"Tetrastes bonasia".Avibase.
"Hazel grouse media".Internet Bird Collection.
Hazel grouse photo galleryat VIREO (Drexel University)
Interactive range map ofBonasa bonasiaatIUCN Red List maps
Audio recordings of Hazel grouseonXeno-canto.

[1] BirdLife International (2016)."Bonasa bonasia".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2016:e.T22679494A85936486.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679494A85936486.en.Retrieved4 June2022.

[2] Peterson, Alan P."Birds of the World — current valid scientific avian names".Retrieved27 January2010.

[3] "Chapter XXIV".

[4] Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 October 2021.

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