August 12: Grouse

Today is the so called "Glorious twelfth" when the Grouse shooting season begins. Here are some things you may not know about these birds:

1. Grouse belong to the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae, meaning they are related to Chickens.
2. There are 18 species of grouse They range in length from 31 to 95 cm (12 to 37 in), and in weight from 0.3 to 6.5 kg (0.66 to 14.33 lb).
3. Grouse live in temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, in forest, moors and mountainous regions.
4. They are mostly vegetarian - their diet consists of buds, catkins, leaves, and twigs. Some species will even eat needles from conifers. The chicks eat meat, mostly insects and other invertebrates, but eat less and less of them as they grow up.
5. Male grouse are bigger than females. In the mating season, the males display their feathers and strut around in displays known as lekking to attract females.
6. A grouse nest is nest is a shallow depression or scrape on the ground with a thin lining of plant material. There can be up to twelve eggs in a clutch. The eggs are are pale Yellow, sparsely spotted with Brown.
7. Chicks hatch in dense, yellow-brown down and leave the nest immediately. They grow feathers very soon after that, and can fly at two weeks old.
8. Around 250,000 grouse are shot in Britain between August 12 and December 10 each year.
9. In America the grouse is called ‘prairie chicken’. Kansas has more wild grouse than any other state.
10. In  Scotland and the Alps, the male grouse's Black tail feathers are a traditional ornament for hats. They are most commonly associated with Glengarry and Balmoral or Tam O'Shanter caps, worn by pipers of civilian and military pipe bands.