Adult red grouse have a reddish brown and mottled plumage with a white stripe on the under wing. The males having a red wattle above the eyes and redder plumage than the female. The birds are plump with a small head, a slightly hooked beak and a short black tail. The birds often look as thought they are hunched up but if disturbed by anything then the neck is extended. The legs and feet are covered in whitish feathers which often give the birds away when they are on bare ground or on low growing plants. Their favourite type of ground is heather moorland on which they are very well camouflaged. Often the first sign of the birds presence is when they fly up fast and direct on short stubby wings. The flight alternates between whirring wingbeats and long glides on downward curved wings. Their famous loud and gruff call has been likened to ‘go-back, go-back, go-back’. During the breeding season the birds are territorial but there are family parties from July and then several families may join together for the winter. In bad winters flocks of over 100 birds, sometimes more, have been seen. The name grouse is linked with the drink of that name but it nearly had another famous reputation. Several years ago when there was a U.K. poll on which should be the bird of Britain and the red grouse was put forward on the basis that it was, wrongly, an endemic bird . Perhaps it is just as well the robin won.
The birds breed throughout the Highlands and Islands where extensive heather moorland is present although they can be found on upland bogs and rough grazing. The number of birds is related to how well the heather is managed in terms of careful burning known as ‘muirburn’. The balance between short heather with fresh shoots and lots of insects for the chicks and long heather as cover against predators is an art in itself. There are codes of conduct for muirburn with legislation restricting the time of year, generally in the winter, when it can be implemented. Unlike other game birds such as pheasants and partridges, red grouse cannot be reared in any numbers. The adults fall prey to both golden eagle and peregrine falcon but it is another bird of prey that has, in recent years, caused a furore in the bird/sporting world. The blame for lack of success on some grouse moors has been laid squarely at the door of the hen harrier who is reputed to take so many young grouse that it adversely affects the numbers. There are many tales of hen harriers being shot and eggs and chicks crushed underfoot. One alternative method to this is to supply the harriers with food and on one estate dead rats were put out but the jury is still out on the success or otherwise of this food for free.
The marked variation in numbers of birds each year has long been a talking point particularly as grouse shooting, beginning on 12th August, is a multi-million pound business. However well heather moorland is managed there are still poor and good years for the birds and this is likely to be due to parasites together with other factors such as weather. One of the main problems in the Highlands has been loss of heather moorland due to large scale planting, overgrazing by sheep and deer and uncontrolled fires. The decrease in the numbers of keepers has meant that some grouse moors have not been managed properly and predators such as foxes and crows have flourished.