Blackcock

A Black Grouse, Tetrao tetrix, male displaying on the lek, or display ground, in spring.
Behind it are the mountains of Lochnagar (1155 metres), specifically Coire nan Eun and The Stuic ridge - looking across the Dee Valley ("Royal Deeside") and the forests of Balmoral.

This displaying, or lekking, starts before dawn and is usually over by 8 or 9 am.
The males posture and display on their stances or territories, as here, and sometimes face up to each other, engaging in mock battles.
A hierarchy is established, with the stronger birds in the centre of the lek, and these males secure by far the most matings with the females which visit now and then.

The male of these birds is often known as a blackcock and the female a greyhen, reflecting their markedly different appearances.

The population of black grouse has declined severely in recent years in the British Isles, and throughout Europe.
In 1990 the UK population was estimated to include 25,000 lekking males; by 2005 this had dropped to just 5078, of which 3344 were in Scotland.
The black grouse is a species of forest and moorland edge, and its decline has been attributed mainly to agricultural intensification, particularly the effects of overgrazing and burning.
Climate change may also have played a part, since throughout the 20th century all four British grouse species' populations have fluctuated together and in step with the North Atlantic Oscillation.

Photographed in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in April.

Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland.