Cantabrian Capercaillie

Tetrao urogallus cantabricus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Genus:	Tetrao
Species:	T. urogallus
Subspecies:	T. u. cantabricus
Trinomial name
Tetrao urogallus cantabricus

The Cantabrian capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus) is a subspecies of the western capercaillie in the grouse family Tetraonidae. It is one of two subspecies found in Spain.

The capercaillie is a large grouse, 80 to 115 cm (31 to 45 in) in length, with the female much smaller than the male. It has dark grey plumage with fine blackish vermiculation (wavelike pattern) around the head and neck. The breast is glossy greenish-black. It has a long, rounded tail, an ivory-white bill, and a scarlet crest.

The subspecies once ranged the length of the Cantabrian Mountains from northern Portugal, through Galicia, Asturias and León, to Cantabria in northern Spain (IUCN Redbook 1979, p. 1). Its range has since contracted to the mountains in northwest Spain. It inhabits an area of 1,700 km² (656 mi²), and is separated from the nearest neighbouring subspecies (T. u. aquitanicus) in the Pyrenees by a distance of more than 300 km (190 mi).

Capercaillies are able to digest conifer needles, and their typical habitat is often described as old coniferous forest. However, the Cantabrian subspecies is not as reliant as other Western capercaillies on pine forest, a type of habitat which is relatively scarce in the Cantabrian mountains. The Cantabrian capercaillie feeds in deciduous woodland, and occurs in mature beech forest and mixed forests of beech and oaks (at elevations ranging from 800 to 1,800 m (2,600 to 5,900 ft). The capercaillie also uses other microhabitat types such as broom, meadow and heath selectively throughout the year. It feeds on beech buds, birch catkins, and holly leaves. It also feeds on bilberry, a common component of its diet (Rodriguez and Obeso 2000 as reported in.

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