In spring, male Black Grouse gather at traditional display grounds to court. Females are smaller and brownish.
Males are black, with a red wattle above each eye. When they fan their long tails, white feathers underneath show. Females are smaller and gray-brown.
Black Grouse dig chambers in deep snow to rest. In the Swiss Alps they spend much of the winter day in these burrows, feeding in morning and evening bouts. Snow provides shelter from cold outdoor air.
During the winters of 2003, 2004 and 2006, skiers experimentally approached radio-tagged males in southwestern Switzerland and flushed them once daily between 14:00 and 15:00. Activity signals provided sufficient feeding-time data for 11 birds.
During repeated flushing, mean evening feeding time rose from about 91 to 112 minutes. After disturbance, birds either dug another snow chamber or rested in trees until shortly before dusk. Their winter schedule combined sheltered rest with feeding outside.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The Alpine study documented behavioural and physiological responses to disturbance from snow burrows. Its authors recommended winter refuges and steering visitors away from sensitive areas. Retaining resting and feeding places supports regional winter conservation.