Scotland’s largest and rarest grouse species; the male Capercaillie is a large, turkey-sized bird and at a distance is conspicuous as it appears black.
When seen more closely, the male has conspicuous red wattle “eyebrows”, there are shades of dark blue on the throat and chest, green on the wings, brown on the back and the tail has white barring. The hen Capercaillie is two-thirds the size of the cock bird and has a predominantly brown appearance, with white, black and brown barring.
How to be responsible when watching wildlife >
Learn more about how to help Capercaillie and be responsible >
Avoid Capercaillie areas if you can, or stay on the main paths, keep moving and keep noise to a minimum from 1 April to 31 August, when Capercaillie are breeding and raising their young. If you encounter Capercaillie, stay still, quiet and let them move off by themselves. Avoid following them to avoid disturbing them again. Winter is still a demanding season for Capercaillie, so to conserve energy the birds are active for as little as four hours a day, therefore consider whether it is better for their survival to simply leave them in peace.
To avoid drawing attention to sensitive sites, please do not share images of Capercaillie online, or include information about specific locations. Image metadata could reveal locations.
Found in upland pine forest where there is a good understorey of blaeberry, this species is very rare and Capercaillie are listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it a wildlife crime to disturb Capercaillie intentionally or recklessly whilst they are lekking, nest building, or at or near a nest with eggs or young.
Now one of our most vulnerable birds, there are approximately 500 Capercaillie left in the UK and the Cairngorms National Park is their last remaining stronghold, with very few birds found elsewhere. Disturbance is one of the pressures that is pushing Capercaillie closer to extinction, so the guidance above sets out how you can help to reduce that pressure.
Avoid Capercaillie areas if you can, or stay on the main paths, keep moving and keep noise to a minimum from 1 April to 31 August, when Capercaillie are breeding and raising their young. If you encounter Capercaillie, stay still, quiet and let them move off by themselves. Avoid following them to avoid disturbing them again. Winter is still a demanding season for Capercaillie, so to conserve energy the birds are active for as little as four hours a day, therefore consider whether it is better for their survival to simply leave them in peace.
To avoid drawing attention to sensitive sites, please do not share images of Capercaillie online, or include information about specific locations. Image metadata could reveal locations.
Found in upland pine forest where there is a good understorey of blaeberry, this species is very rare and Capercaillie are listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it a wildlife crime to disturb Capercaillie intentionally or recklessly whilst they are lekking, nest building, or at or near a nest with eggs or young.
Now one of our most vulnerable birds, there are approximately 500 Capercaillie left in the UK and the Cairngorms National Park is their last remaining stronghold, with very few birds found elsewhere. Disturbance is one of the pressures that is pushing Capercaillie closer to extinction, so the guidance above sets out how you can help to reduce that pressure.
Avoid Capercaillie areas if you can, or stay on the main paths, keep moving and keep noise to a minimum from 1 April to 31 August, when Capercaillie are breeding and raising their young. If you encounter Capercaillie, stay still, quiet and let them move off by themselves. Avoid following them to avoid disturbing them again. Winter is still a demanding season for Capercaillie, so to conserve energy the birds are active for as little as four hours a day, therefore consider whether it is better for their survival to simply leave them in peace.
To avoid drawing attention to sensitive sites, please do not share images of Capercaillie online, or include information about specific locations. Image metadata could reveal locations.
Found in upland pine forest where there is a good understorey of blaeberry, this species is very rare and Capercaillie are listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it a wildlife crime to disturb Capercaillie intentionally or recklessly whilst they are lekking, nest building, or at or near a nest with eggs or young.
Now one of our most vulnerable birds, there are approximately 500 Capercaillie left in the UK and the Cairngorms National Park is their last remaining stronghold, with very few birds found elsewhere. Disturbance is one of the pressures that is pushing Capercaillie closer to extinction, so the guidance above sets out how you can help to reduce that pressure.
