Willow grouse

Scientific name: Lagopus lagopus

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Plump grouse; in summer mottled reddish-brown (male more rufous), in winter pure white with a black tail and a red comb over the eye in the male. Legs and feet are feathered, and the female is more barred brown. The sexes differ in breeding plumage.

Size and weight

430–810 g, 35–43 cm.

Habitat

Inhabits willow and birch scrub, dwarf-shrub heath, bog margins, and the transition between forest and low alpine tundra. Favours the mosaic where woodland meets open mountain.

Distribution

Circumpolar across the boreal and subarctic belt; the Scandinavian mountains, northern tundra and heath. Prefers scrub and dwarf-shrub ground.

Diet

Willow and birch buds, twigs and catkins in winter; berries, leaves, shoots and insects (for chicks) in summer.

Behaviour

A ground bird that walks and runs, flushing explosively with a distinctive cackle. Gathers in flocks in winter and is monogamous in the breeding season.

Hunting tips

Work willow thickets and dwarf birch at the forest-mountain edge, looking for droppings (fibrous cylindrical pellets) under bushes at roosts and tracks in snow. Birds sit tight then flush explosively with a loud cackling call. A pointing dog is the classic tool for locating birds holding in low cover, and in winter follow the feeding sign through the willows.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 8 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.