Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
high |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: In Europe, the total population size is estimated at 1,590,000-3,420,000 mature individuals, with 798,000-1,710,000 breeding calling males (BirdLife International 2021), and comprises approximately 40% of the species' global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is between 3,980,000-8,550,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is desirable. In Europe, the species' population is considered to have undergone a small decline over three generations (16.77 years) (BirdLife International 2021). Considerable range contraction has occurred in the east and west of the species' range, resulting in local extinctions (Madge and McGowan 2002). This species is considered to have a high dependency on forest habitat, which is estimated to be declining at a rate of 9.1% over the past three generations within its mapped range (Global Forest Watch 2024). It is therefore tentatively suspected that this rate of cover loss may have led to a decline of between 1-19% in the species' population size over the same time frame, with a best estimate of reduction of 5-9%. Based on these data, the global population size is considered to be decreasing slowly over three generations.
Trend justification: .
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Western Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/western-capercaillie-tetrao-urogallus on 05/01/2025.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2025) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 05/01/2025.
