Hazel Grouse

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Hazel Grouse in the UK

Hazel Grouse has no accepted British record and is not on the British List in any category. It is a sedentary forest bird that spends its life close to where it hatched, so natural vagrancy across the sea is very unlikely. The range runs from north-east France, the Alps and the Balkans through Scandinavia and eastern Europe, then across Siberia to Japan. It needs dense, damp, mixed forest with plenty of understorey, and populations at the western edge of the range are small. To see one you have to travel abroad.

Where the Hazel Grouse lives

Not in Britain. The nearest birds are in the hill forests of eastern France and the Alps, where they are hard to find. Birders more often look in Finland, Sweden, Estonia or the Bialowieza Forest in Poland. Walk quiet tracks through damp spruce and mixed forest with alder, birch and hazel at dawn, in spring or in early autumn, when males whistle most. Birds feed on the ground and in low branches, and when disturbed they often fly only a few metres up into a tree.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Mixed boreal forest understorey.
Diet: Buds, berries, insects.
Field note: Cryptic; high-pitched whistle.

How to identify a Hazel Grouse

Small for a grouse at 35 to 39cm, close to a Grey Partridge in bulk but longer-tailed. The upperparts are finely barred grey, the wings browner, and the underparts white with heavy chestnut and black markings. The male has a black throat with a white border and a short crest that he can raise. The female has a mottled brownish throat and a shorter crest. In flight the grey tail shows a black band near the tip. It flushes with a whirr, flies a short way and lands in a tree, where it often freezes against the trunk.

Call and song

The male's song is a very thin, high whistle: a drawn-out note followed by a few shorter ones. It is closer to a Goldcrest than a gamebird and many people miss it. Females give a softer, liquid trill.

Confusion species

• Grey Partridge: Grey Partridge is a farmland bird with an orange face and a rusty tail, and never perches in trees.
• Black Grouse: A female Black Grouse is much larger and plainer brown, with a notched tail and no black tail band.

Related guide Rare birds in the UK.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Hazel Grouse is an Epic tier bird, worth +20 points when you log one. It is on our list as a European species. It is not on the British List.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Pine GrosbeakEpic · Boreal coniferous forest
• Three-toed WoodpeckerEpic · Boreal spruce forest
• Northern Hawk OwlLegendary · Boreal forest (extreme vagrant)
• Black WoodpeckerEpic · Old beech and pine forest
• Booted EagleEpic · Mature forest with clearings
• Eagle OwlEpic · Forest (escapee status)

Hazel Grouse: quick answers

Has a Hazel Grouse ever been seen in the UK?

No. There is no accepted record from Britain, and the species does not appear on the British List. It does not migrate, so it is not a bird that storms or drift could bring here.

Where can I see a Hazel Grouse in the UK?

You cannot. The closest wild birds are in eastern France and the Alps. Most British birders see their first on a trip to Finland, Sweden, Estonia or eastern Poland, often with a local guide who knows the territories.

What habitat does Hazel Grouse live in?

Dense, damp, mixed coniferous forest, ideally with some spruce and a thick shrub layer. It feeds mostly on plant material from the ground and low branches, adding insects in the breeding season. Open, tidy, even-aged plantations do not suit it.

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