Hazel Grouse

The Hazel Grouse is one of the smaller grouse, with intricately barred and mottled grey-brown plumage that blends into the forest floor. Both sexes have a short crest and dark tail band; males show a black throat bordered in white. Its secretive habits and preference for dense woodland make it difficult to watch, and a thin whistled call or the whir of departing wings often reveals it first (Wikipedia, general species account).

Hazel Grouse feed on buds, shoots, leaves, berries and seasonal invertebrates, shifting location as snow melts and food becomes available. The nest is a shallow ground scrape hidden by vegetation. Work on the Hokkaido subspecies vicinitas recorded clutches of four to nine eggs, averaging seven. That subspecies is listed as Near Threatened on Japan's national Red List (Drovetski 1997; Japanese Journal of Ornithology 1985; Japan MOE 5th Red List 2026).