Tetrao

Tetrao
Temporal range: Early Pliocene to recent
Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Tribe: Tetraonini
Genus: Tetrao
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Tetrao urogallus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

Tetrao urogalloides
Tetrao urogallus

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.

Taxonomy

The genus Tetrao was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The genus name is the Latin word for a game bird, probably a black grouse. The black grouse was included by Linnaeus in the genus Tetrao but is now placed in the genus Lyrurus. The type species was designated as the western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) by George Robert Gray in 1840.

Species

The genus contains two extant species:

Genus Tetrao – Linnaeus, 1758 – two species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Western capercaillie


Male

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Female

 Tetrao urogallus
Linnaeus, 1758

Eight subspecies
  • T. u. cantabricus (Castroviejo, 1967)
  • T. u. aquitanicus (Ingram, 1915)
  • T. u. crassirostris (C.L. Brehm, 1831)
  • T. u. rudolfi (Dombrowski, 1912)
  • T. u. urogallus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • T. u. karelicus (Lönnberg, 1924)
  • T. u. lonnbergi (Snigirevski, 1957)
  • T. u. pleskei (Stegmann, 1926)
  • T. u. obsoletus (Snigerewski, 1937)
  • T. u. volgensis (Buturlin, 1907)
  • T. u. uralensis (Nazarov, 1886)
  • T. u. taczanowskii (Stejneger, 1885)
Europe to western Russia
Map of range		 Size:

Habitat:

Diet:		  LC 

Black-billed capercaillie


Male

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Female

 Tetrao urogalloides
Middendorff, 1853

Two subspecies
  • T. u. kamtschaticus (Kittlitz, 1858)
  • T. u. urogalloides (nominate) (Middendorff, 1853)
eastern Russia as well as parts of northern Mongolia and China Size:

Habitat:

Diet:		  LC 

The fossil record of this genus is extensive:

References

  1. 1 2 Peachey, Kevin (25 August 2026). "New 10p coin enters circulation - will you spot one?". BBC News. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 159. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  3. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 383. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 62. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  6. ↑ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 24. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2026.