Golden Bird

A capercaillie male is quite a sight to witness. Even though their numbers are in decline as many bird species, capercaillie and black grouse leks are still among the very common nature experiences many enjoy in Scandinavia. For some children, it might be the first close encounter with one of nature’s greatest spectacles, when their parents or grandparents take them out to see a lek.

The capercaillie is a bird species that shows quite a developed sexual dimorphism. With the males being obviously bigger in stature and darker in colour than their female counterparts.

When the days grow longer in March and April, the hormone levels in the forests are rising. At this time, capercaillie males are starting to look quite frightening to some when they change from their pheasant-like look to their leking display. The tail feathers are standing up in a big fan, the neck is stretched out, and the beak points proudly into the sky. All feathers in their beard are standing off to look even more impressive to the opposite sex. A small fun fact to mention would be that many females actually look like they have a beard themselves, which makes it easier to tell them apart from black grouse females.

Around a leking ground there can be many males, where every one of them competes for a slice of it. While the gentlemen are walking around the forest floor, the ladies are flying around the whole ground and look at each competitor from above. Carefully evaluating who is to be the chosen one this year. When a male is being observed, it will show up to its highest standard: feathers out and hopping over its leking space. The chicken will move on until they have decided, while the males can also get into fights among each other. These fights, if very serious, can also end lethal for some of them. Many males will only be in their prime for one or two years of their displaying life. It does not take too long until someone else takes the crone and spreads his genes to all the females that visit a specific lek.