Capercaillies
Tetrao
Tetrao is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies UK: /kʰæpəʳˈkʰɛɪli/. They are some of the largest grouses and can be found in the forested areas of the Eurasian Palearctic.
Feathers from the bird were used to decorate the characteristic hat of the bersaglieri, an Italian ace infantry formation. In the United Kingdom, the birds are at risk of extinction. Since 2026 they have been featured on the reverse of the ten pence coin.
3 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 2 known species
Western Capercaillie
speciesTetrao urogallus
Black-billed Capercaillie
speciesTetrao urogalloides
Tetrao urogalloides × urogallus
hybridTetrao urogalloides × urogallus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Tetrao in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 1025.