Black grouse males, Bergslagen, Sweden
(© E. Haarberg/Corbis)
Just before the sun rises each morning in spring, male black grouse gather on open meadows in the wooded moors and bogs they call home. They puff up their feathers and march around in plain view of the female black grouse, in a competitive display called “lekking.” If the prancing doesn’t get the attention of the ladies, the mating call might. In the western European portion of their range, a black grouse lek may involve only a few dozen birds. But in the Russian reaches of their territory, more than 100 males may assemble to strut their stuff.