Blackcock at Dawn, North Pennines
From £32.00
A male black grouse - a blackcock - stands sentry on a lichen-crusted wall, his glossy blue-black plumage catching the light and that unmistakable scarlet wattle blazing above the eye. Black grouse are a genuine rarity now, holding on in only a scatter of northern strongholds like this one.
View sizes & buy →About the Black Grouse
The black grouse, with males known as blackcocks, is now one of Britain's rarest and most range-restricted birds, holding on in only a scatter of northern upland strongholds after a long decline linked to habitat loss. Males gather at dawn at communal display grounds called leks, fanning white tail feathers and calling to attract females.
