Who wrote the work capercaillie. Alexander Stepanovich Yakovlev "grouse"
GLUKHARI
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Here is the story of the remarkable Russian writer Ivan Sergeevich Sokolov-Mikitov "Capercaillie". The story "Capercaillie", like other literary works of the writer, in addition to its high artistic level, is also of practical interest for hunting capercaillie. The habits of capercaillie, hunting for capercaillie are described.
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Only a few hunters have ever hunted capercaillie currents in the spring. I remember Mikhail Mikhailovich Prishvin told me that he never managed to visit the capercaillie current. I've been lucky in this regard. I hunted capercaillie a lot, I knew abundant currents. I saw such currents near Leningrad, in the Kingisepp region. I saw and listened to them in the Urals and on the Kola Peninsula. I started hunting capercaillie at a young age. In my old story "Glushaki" my first hunt is described. Titus, a village hunter, was my teacher and guide. In the morning, after spending the night in the forest, he led me to a singing capercaillie. The first time I fired at a spruce branch that swayed under the weight of the capercaillie. Tit shook his finger at me and from his gun shot a capercaillie singing in the dark. Since then, I have hunted capercaillie currents a lot and gladly met every spring, preparing for an interesting hunt, stuffing cartridges in advance. I have never been a greedy hunter, and even on the most abundant currents I have never killed more than two birds. When I stopped shooting, the forest nature approached me. I liked to visit capercaillie currents all alone. An extra hunter only gets in the way here. I spent the night alone by the fire in the forest, listening to quiet night sounds. These forest nights were for me my highest joy. I remember well one such hunt. Someone told me that a distant village, which I have never been to, has good capercaillie places. In the spring, when the snow lay, I went to this village. It was necessary to go many miles. I stopped and rested in the village, began to ask the peasants about the capercaillie places. There were no hunters in that village then. They told me that they saw capercaillie in a large forest, and they showed me the way. I remember how in the evening I went to the forest. At the edge of the village, the peasant carpenters were finishing some kind of construction. With axes in their hands, they sat astride the logs, looked with surprise at stranger. Soon I entered the forest. I remember a tall, standing on the edge of the forest, a Christmas tree that looked like a green bell tower. I was walking along a winter road paved by lumberjacks. I came to a wide clearing. I did not find any signs of capercaillie current. On a wide clearing, I stopped to spend the night. Having cut down two dry trees with an ax, I made a node out of them. Slowly arranged out spruce branches bed on the snow. All night long I heard the familiar howl of wolves, resounding beyond the clearing in the swamp. In the morning I crossed a large, burnt swamp. It was necessary more than once to climb over the trunks of trees felled by fire. Crossing the swamp, in a pine forest, I found signs of capercaillie current. Capercaillie small "game" droppings lay on the snow under some pine trees. Having familiarized myself with the place, I remained until the evening listening to the capercaillie. Sitting under a pine tree, in the evening twilight, I heard capercaillie flock to the current. Not far from me, a capercaillie sat on a pine tree. A green bough swayed under its weight. After waiting for the night, I quietly stepped aside and, having spent the night by the fire, returned to the current before dawn, shot one singing capercaillie. Toward evening the next day, a light spring rain fell, and I had to leave the current. I walked across a wide field, hoping to find my way to the village. I remember that in the dark I got lost, came across a thick juniper bush. Without taking off his gun and hunting bag, he fell on him, as if on a soft spring bed. My God, what blissful dreams I had! I saw mine desk, a kerosene lamp under a green shade, my rustic cozy room With log walls and heated oven. I read and wrote something, and my soul was calm.
Subsequently, I knew a lot of capercaillie currents. It happened that I came close to the current capercaillie. With friends, village hunters, I spent the night in the forest more than once and heard many stories. Capercaillie sang on pines and on tall bare aspens. You need the ability to listen and approach the singing capercaillie. His song is unlike any other sound in nature. It begins with a quiet and rare clicking, turns into a small fraction and ends with a strange, mysterious grinding. Who knows, maybe such mysterious sounds were heard in those times when there was no man on earth. Undoubtedly, capercaillie is one of the oldest birds on earth. This is evidenced by the way of his life and his appearance. Capercaillie usually live in dense pine forests and swamps. In winter, they feed on hard pine needles. Apparently, they lived in those distant times when there were no deciduous forests on earth.
Preparing for winter, capercaillie fly to the banks of rivers and lakes, stuffing their crops with small round pebbles. These pebbles help capercaillie grind hard pine needles in their crops. I noticed that capercaillie do not peck needles from every pine tree. They choose individual pine trees that they like for some reason. The pine tree, on which capercaillie fly out to feed in winter, seems completely bare. As far as I know, pine needles are the only food for capercaillie in winter time. The current of capercaillie begins in the earliest spring. There are still deep snowdrifts in the forest, on which capercaillie begin to lek with spread wings draw intricate patterns. Hearing the song of the capercaillie in the spring, you will never forget it. However, not every hunter can hear a capercaillie song. I knew city hunters who did not know how to hunt capercaillie currents. One of these hunters, I remember, built wide "ears" out of cardboard. But even these "ears" did not help him hear the song of the capercaillie. I remember we asked him to put on cardboard "ears" and laughed at him for a long time.
Capercaillie are unusually sensitive to changes in the weather. They foresee fog and rain. Having flocked to the current in the evening, in bad weather in the morning they do not sing at all. More than once I had to watch the fights of male capercaillie. They fight on the ground under the trees, flapping their wings and jumping menacingly at each other. The flapping of their mighty wings, their hoarse voices are heard far away. Watching the fight of capercaillie, I could never understand why one capercaillie took off running, and the other, pursuing him, continued to click and gnash. It happened that a current capercaillie ran at my very feet. To do this, it was necessary to stand completely still, clinging to the trunk of a tree.
On capercaillie currents, I happened to come very close to the current birds. Sometimes they sat on the lower boughs of trees, and it occurred to me to catch a live, current capercaillie by tying a hair or wire loop to a stick, which could be put on his outstretched neck. I did not bother to engage in such a hunt, but each hunt on a capercaillie current gave me great and joyful pleasure. I closely observed rare birds, listened to their singing and, as it were, merged with the forest nature that surrounded me.
Near Leningrad, in the Kingisepp district, I once knew rich capercaillie currents and every spring I went hunting there for many days. There I walked a lot, watched and listened. It is good to spend nights in the spring awakening forest. Mysterious sounds are heard. On one of the capercaillie currents stood small house. This house was once built by a wealthy landowner, a lover of capercaillie hunting. I was told that he sometimes came to the current, went out on the porch, drank coffee and listened to the singing of capercaillie. This old crumbling house was corrected by my great friend Sergei Nikolaevich, who was in charge of the hunting economy. City hunters, except for me, did not come to the distant capercaillie current. In the forest house, I was a complete and all-powerful master. During the day I slept on the bunk, and spent the nights at the table, taken out of the house under the trees. Here I drank tea boiled on a fire, listened to forest mysterious voices. Sometimes the spring nights were so quiet that the flame of the candle that stood on the table hardly flickered. Having drunk, tea, before dawn I went hunting. Once a mysterious adventure happened to me. Going out to the current, I left an empty mug on the table. I walked along the current for a long time, listened to the singing of capercaillie and returned along the ditch filled with running water to the hut when the sun was rising over the forest. To my great surprise, I saw that the mug from which I drank tea at night was filled with water. It took me a long time to solve the riddle.
Detachment - Galliformes
Family - Tether
Genus/Species - Tetrao urogallus
Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Length: 60 cm, the male capercaillie (see photo) is larger than the female.
Wingspan: 87-135 cm.
Weight: up to 6.5 kg.
BREEDING
Puberty: male from 3 years old, female earlier.
Nesting period: April June.
Carrying: 1 per season.
Number of eggs: 7-9.
Incubation: 26-28 days.
The chicks are on the wing: at the age of 2-3 weeks.
LIFESTYLE
Habits: live in flocks in winter.
Food: plants, insects.
Sounds:"flowing" and "turning".
Lifespan: up to 10 years old.
RELATED SPECIES
The closest relative of the capercaillie is the field grouse.
Capercaillie is the largest representative of the black grouse family. Despite its large mass, this bird also feeds on trees. In snowy winters, capercaillie huddle into snow chambers for the night. In winter, birds feed on needles of pines or cedars.
BREEDING
Male and female capercaillie keep separate from each other all year round, meeting only during the mating season. At the beginning of the nesting period, males gather in groups on leks, where they compete with each other: they show off their fan-shaped and spread out tails, drag their wings along the ground and stretch their necks with ruffled feathers, while giving out clattering sounds.
Early in the morning wood grouses sing, sitting on separate trees. The capercaillie song is divided into two parts and consists of "flowing" and "turning". Ornithologists translate "flowing" as "te-ke ... te-ke ... te-ke ...". Capercaillie loses his hearing during the performance of the second part of the song, the so-called "turning". After sunrise, the capercaillie flies to the ground and disperses competitors. Females watch mating and fights of males, sitting on trees, and then mate with the winner.
All the worries about future chicks fall on the shoulders of the capercaillie. At the base of the tree trunk, the female digs a shallow hole, which she lines with needles, moss, grass or heather and lays seven to nine eggs in it. The motley bird incubates the masonry, well hidden from the eyes of predators. Newborn chicks are covered with brown down dotted with dark spots and stripes. After a few hours, they leave the nest, and at the age of 10 days they already know how to fly.
WHERE Dwells
Capercaillie live in the forests of Eurasia. They are found in the territory from the Scandinavian Peninsula to Siberia. In Central Europe, the number of this species is declining every year. Capercaillie's favorite places of settlement are old coniferous forests with large meadows of blueberries, the berries and leaves of which he eats all year round. This bird benefits from being close to an anthill, which provides the chicks with protein-rich food. Capercaillie is a very shy bird. In summer, it flies little, hiding in blueberry thickets and in the undergrowth. Capercaillie also builds its well-hidden nest on the ground.
In winter, the bird spends a lot of time on trees. In regions where there is a lot of snow, the wood grouse survives thanks to a thick subcutaneous layer of fat, which acts as an insulating material and energy storage. In winter, capercaillie gather in flocks of 5 to 25 birds. Males are often kept separate from females.
WHAT DOES IT FEED
In summer, capercaillie feed on the green parts of dwarf shrubs, insects and their larvae, as well as leaves, young shoots, blueberries, lingonberries and dropsy, sedge, marsh wild rosemary, moss and blackberry leaves. Capercaillie look for insects and larvae in the soil, raking it with their feet and beak. Birds also use their beaks to pluck leaves and buds from plants. In winter, capercaillie live in coniferous or mixed forests dominated by coniferous trees. In Central Europe, capercaillie have chosen thickets of juniper and pine forests. In the cold season, birds feed on needles and young cones. Female capercaillie chicks lead to anthills, since the nutritious larvae of these insects are optimally suited for rapid development organisms of young birds. Later, the chicks begin to prey on other insects and spiders.
OBSERVATIONS
The legs of the male capercaillie are covered with feathers right up to the very toes. The color of the feathers of this bird from afar seems to be gray-black, but close up you can distinguish a greenish tint of the chest and brown wings with white spots near the elbow joints.
The female wears a variegated plumage with dark dots and stripes. The short, rounded wings of the capercaillie are best suited for maneuvering between trees. Capercaillie leaves the forest only in exceptional cases. The bird can walk on the branches of trees.
DESCRIPTION
On cold winter nights, capercaillie burrow into the snow, and in very coldy They spend most of the day in snow burrows.
The capercaillie is a big bird. Males reach a size and weight of 4 kg. Females are somewhat smaller, about the size of a chicken. Live in the forests various types, but prefer conifers. Capercaillie feed on berries, seeds, young shoots, pine nuts. In early spring, during the breeding season, capercaillie gather on currents that occur in one place for decades. Males are so fond of singing that they stop hearing, go deaf, become in different poses, and sometimes fight. All care for offspring lies on the "shoulders" of females - they equip nests on the ground, lay 5-8 eggs, incubate them and raise babies. Capercaillie is a valuable species of game.
- The capercaillie loses his hearing and sight for some time during the mating - and in this way he resembles a man in love. The similarity of the physiological state inherent in a certain period of life to both a capercaillie and a person is noted in the proverbs of many peoples. So, for example, in German folklore we find the following proverb: "Love makes a capercaillie blind, and a man a child."
- It happens that capercaillie females sometimes mate with black grouse males - as a result, sterile hybrid individuals are born.
- Chicks in the first days of life are in danger from predators and humans.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES
Male: the back is black with a blue tint, the chest with a green metallic sheen, a short beard under the beak. In flight, chestnut wings show white markings; the belly and tail are also marked with white spots. During mating, the male wears a fan-shaped tail.
Brows: during mating, red leathery outgrowths swell above the eyes of males.
Beak: strong, colors Ivory, with a hooked curved end; serves to disrupt the kidneys.
Carrying: consists of about 7-9 sand or yellow-brown eggs with reddish spots.
Female: much smaller than the male. The plumage is brown with a black and white pattern, the chest is red, most of the belly is white. The female capercaillie is called black grouse or kopalukha.
Chicks: covered with khaki down. A few hours after birth, they leave the nest and are already able to get their own food, but the chicks are very sensitive to cold and dampness.
- Habitat of capercaillie
WHERE Dwells
Capercaillie inhabits coniferous and mixed forests of Eurasia from the Scandinavian countries and Scotland to Lake Baikal, the French mountains of the Vosges and Jura, and is also found in the Pyrenees and the Alps.
PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION
The number of the species is catastrophically reduced due to the development of the timber industry.
Current capercaillie. Video (00:00:41)
The song of the capercaillie is heard in the early spring morning even when approaching the zoo. The current capercaillie is a bewitching sight. Few people manage to see it in nature. But every spring the capercaillie brings joy to the employees and visitors of the Perm Zoo. The video was filmed by the zoologist of the bird department Starova Olga.
Capercaillie on the current. Video (00:00:33)
Wild capercaillie in Yailu. Video (00:01:58)
Capercaillie fed on the leaves of a domestic apple tree, sometimes descended to the ground for clover leaves. He drank water from dishes for domestic ducks and calmly walked next to them. Sometimes he flew to the northern outskirts of the village, but after a while he returned to the former courtyard
Capercaillie on the current. Video (00:01:05)
Capercaillie on the current. Capercaillie. Current. The song of the deer.
Capercaillie lekking on a tree. Video (00:01:33)
Capercaillie lekking on a tree
Capercaillie - godfather of the taiga. Video (00:04:41)
Capercaillie attacks a man
http://nemcd.com/2014/02/gluxar-paxan-tajgi/
The capercaillie is one of the largest birds living in the forests. Its mass reaches 5 kg. The common capercaillie has several popular names: flywheel, deaf black grouse, swindler. This bird is from the pheasant family (chicken order).
A little about the types of capercaillie
The common capercaillie is a representative of one of the most large species feathered game. The species of the common capercaillie is divided into 3 subspecies: the white-bellied capercaillie, which lives in the eastern and central regions of Russia; dark taiga, living in the eastern and northern regions of the country; Western European black-bellied (in the forests western territories countries).
Capercaillie common: photo, description
Capercaillie is the largest grouse bird (subfamily).
It differs from other representatives in its highly rounded tail and unusual elongated feathers on the throat.
The capercaillie plumage is dark with a metallic tint, a bright red eyebrow, the feathers under the beak look like a “beard”. The female wood grouse is more variegated (a mixture of rusty yellow, rusty brown, rusty red and white flowers). And her throat, part of the upper chest and part of the wing have a rusty red color.
The common capercaillie is a bird, the size of which differs greatly between males and females. Males reach 110 cm or more, their wingspan is 1.4 m. Females are much smaller - by 1/3. The head of the male is blackish. The back of the neck is ash-gray with black spots, the front is gray-black. The color of the back is blackish with spots of gray and brown. The chest is a greenish-steel color, its lower side is covered with white and black spots. The tail is black with white spots, the wings are brown. The beak is white-pink.
Distribution, habitation
The capercaillie usually lives in coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests of Eurasia.
In practice, this bird leads, but it happens that sometimes it also makes seasonal migrations.
Once upon a time, capercaillie were found in all the forests of Eurasia, in the east of Siberia to the very Transbaikalia (western part). In the 18th-20th centuries, the number and habitat of the capercaillie greatly decreased, and in some places these birds even disappeared. By the middle of the 18th century in Great Britain, these birds were completely exterminated. But later, in 1837, the capercaillie was again brought there from Sweden and took root perfectly.
In Russian territories, due to the cutting down of numerous forests, capercaillie populations began to retreat to the northern part of the country, and in some southern regions in their forest zones (Tula, Voronezh, Kursk, etc.), these birds disappeared completely. In addition to Russia and Sweden, capercaillie can also be found in Greece, Spain, the Alps, the Carpathians, Asia Minor and the Central German mountains.
Capercaillie prefers more remote places in the forests.
Typical for this bird is spring lekking, which occurs mostly on trees. The capercaillie has many peculiar features.
Description of behavior and habits
In summer, molting is observed in capercaillie. At this time, they fly into especially dense forests.
During such a period, these birds have a peculiar behavior: they periodically raise their tail and lower it, they also raise and throw their heads, while slowly moving along the branch.
Usually the wood grouse at this time sings so enthusiastically that for a certain period it becomes deaf. Hence its name came from: capercaillie. The female, in turn, flies to the current, where mating takes place, after which they leave it together and settle in the most remote and impassable places in the forest, where their molting takes place.
Capercaillie ordinary periodically appears in mixed and deciduous forests. These birds love and are rich in a variety of berries.
The bird flies heavily, noisily, often loudly flapping its wings, and mostly makes small flights.
Capercaillie spends daytime on the ground, and spends the night on tree branches. Sometimes he is overly aggressive when other animals appear. There are cases that sometimes the capercaillie tried to attack dogs and other domestic small animals (stories of the inhabitants of Norway).
The capercaillie is quite cautious, has excellent hearing and good eyesight. Therefore, hunting for it is considered difficult.
Offspring
The main care for the offspring lies with the female. She arranges a nest on the ground, often under the shelter of bushes or fallen trees, where she later lays her eggs. A full clutch usually consists of about 5-16 eggs.
The female incubates the eggs herself. She also continues to take care of the hatched chicks: warms, protects from predators.
Food
The main type of food for capercaillie in spring and summer periods make up the shoots of plants, various flowers, tree buds, leaves, grass, forest berries, seeds and insects. AT autumn time these birds feed mainly on larch needles, and in winter they are attracted by spruce and pine needles and buds. Chicks have a special diet: spiders and insects.
Conclusion
The common capercaillie is one of the most valuable objects of hunting for hunters. In this regard, in many areas of both Russia and other countries of the world, it has become a rather rare inhabitant, and somewhere it has completely disappeared, and now various measures are being taken to protect this species.
The common capercaillie is also introduced in the Tula region. This should be remembered by everyone who is fond of hunting.
To further clarify the number, concentration and status of this bird on the territory of Russia, detailed and lengthy studies are needed.
Capercaillie always lived with us. There is enough space and food for him in the taiga. He is not afraid of frost. Sleeping in the snow. And sleeping in the snow is warm for a capercaillie, like a person in a good plague.
In spring, many different birds flew into the taiga from the warm side. The black grouse flew with them. In the taiga, a black grouse met a capercaillie. We made friends. Lived through the summer. In the fall, the black grouse was about to fly back to the warm land.
The capercaillie said to him:
- You live far away. You will have to fly for a long time. Do not suffer. Do not rub calluses under the wings. Stay here. We will live in the taiga.
- No, I will not stay in the taiga. I'm afraid of the cold. In winter, I'll freeze here and starve to death. There is nothing to eat here in winter. I will fly to warmer climes.
The grouse replies:
- When the cold comes, I will teach you to burrow into the snow. It's warm to sleep in the snow. I sleep and don't get cold. You won't go hungry either. We have enough food.
In winter we will eat needles and tree buds. In the spring, when the snow begins to melt, there are a lot of old lingonberries and bearberries. Stay. Live here. We will have more fun in the winter together. We will live together.
The black grouse believed the capercaillie and agreed to stay in the taiga for the winter.
Snow. Big frosts have come. The grouse began to freeze.
“I’ll perish here from the cold,” he said to the capercaillie. - You stay alone in the taiga. I will fly.
- No, I won't let you go! .. We will live together - winter the winter, get food.
The capercaillie grabbed the grouse's tail with its paws and held it so tightly that the feathers of the tail turned to the sides of the grouse.
The grouse could not escape. He remained in the taiga, but wept so much for his land that his eyebrows reddened from tears. Look at his eyebrows - they are red now.
That's how it was.
Capercaillie is the largest bird of the grouse family that lives in our country. It lives almost throughout Russia. Prefers to settle in dense coniferous forests, near swamps, sometimes this bird settles in a mixed forest. Capercaillie leads a sedentary lifestyle. But sometimes it can fly from one forest to another.
Capercaillie has a very beautiful plumage. Males are brighter in color than females. Their back is black-gray with light speckles, the chest is greenish with a metallic tint. The color of the wings is grey. In addition, by spring, their eyebrows swell, which turn red during the current.
Capercaillie females are “dressed” more modestly, and are very similar for a female black grouse .
It feeds only on plant foods and insects. Their summer diet is dominated by grass, flowers, berries, tree leaves, beetles, grasshoppers and other insects...
Capercaillie does not often use its wings for its intended purpose - it rarely flies. And if it flies somewhere, then, as a rule, it rises no higher than the trees.
Current for capercaillie is probably the most interesting activity in their life. They can mate at any time of the year, but the mating season begins only in the spring. In the spring, capercaillie males flock to glades or meadows, which do not change year after year and serve as their so-called current. On the leks, wood grouses attract females by singing, males fight with each other, find out which of them is the strongest. The “melody” of current males is almost always the same: first, the capercaillie makes clicks, and then a sound that is somewhat similar to hissing. At the same time, he spreads his wings a little, fluffs his tail and stretches his neck. After some time, females arrive at the current. For each female, especially if there are few of them, serious fights take place, in which the weaker one can even die from wounds.
The current at capercaillie begins early in the morning, a few hours before dawn. But some males are waiting for this event so much that they will fly to the lekking the day before it starts.
But capercaillie females can also feel a shortage of “cavaliers” due to poaching, diseases, etc. Then the females are forced to fly to the lek to the black grouse and mate with him. As a result of these connections, a mixture of black grouse and capercaillie is born - mezhnyak. Mezhnyaks can be similar to capercaillie and black grouse. It all depends on who the female was. If the female was a capercaillie, then the mezhnyak looks like a capercaillie. Mezhnyaks live in exactly the same way as the rest of the grouse, only they cannot give birth because of, so to speak, mixing of blood. Just like a mix hare hare with hare, the cuff hare does not have the ability to reproduce. But despite this, mezhnyaks still fly to the current, but only in order to fight, and also in every possible way to prevent the mating of pairs. Therefore, in a sense, the mezhnyak is a harmful animal.
If the mating was successful, then the female begins to build a nest for herself. Usually capercaillie nests are located near the current (1-1.5 km). The nest is a small hole lined with twigs, grass, moss, feathers. The nest is very well camouflaged and protected from rain. After some time, from 6 to 12 eggs of yellow-red color with small dark specks appear in the nest, which the female takes down within a few days. Incubation of eggs lasts from 3 to 4 weeks.
Males do not participate in incubation of chicks, as they have a molting period. At this time they are afraid of everything and hide in the darkest wilderness of the forest.
Hatched capercaillie chicks develop very quickly. The female takes them to safe place almost immediately after they are born. If the first days of life they are next to their mother, fleeing from the rain and cold under her wing, then after a few days they can already camouflage well in the grass. They will hide so that not every hunting dog can detect them.
The mother heroically protects her offspring, and often deceives those who like to eat chicks (martens, foxes, etc.), pretending to be wounded. While she diverts attention to herself, the chicks will already have time to hide. But despite all the efforts of the mother, some of the little capercaillie still die, not surviving until autumn. They fall prey to predators or disease.
About two weeks after birth, the chicks can fly short distances. And after a month they fly just like adults.
By autumn, the brood breaks up, all the males leave the mother, and the females stay with her for some time.
In severe frosts, they do not get out of their "lairs" for days on end, only if they fly out for a few minutes to have lunch. Despite their good hearing, capercaillie often fall prey to foxes, predators of the marten family, etc. in their snowy shelters. But usually they hear the approach of animals and fly up a tree in advance.
