predators
The predator's eye
Like many other animals, the willow grouse is often followed by the watchful eyes of predators – lynxes, eagles and gyrfalcons, for example. One method of defense is to live in flocks.
Flock life
Willow grouse gather into flocks during winter. As they are so many, one of them is always on the lookout for stalking predators. That is not possible for a lone bird, since much of its time must be devoted to seeking food.
Camouflage
The willow grouse is well-camouflaged with the colours of the landscape. When those colours change, so do the grouse's!
Can you see me?
In winter, the willow grouse is white as snow and, in summer, as freckled as lichens, mosses and brushwood. A brooding hen crouches low over her eggs, alert and still, and difficult to spot. Even when the snow is melting, the willow grouse deceives the hunter's eye, becoming partly white and partly dark, like the variegated landscape.
Predator's choice
How has all this come to pass? The willow grouse's clever adaptations to avoid the clutches of predators are a result of the predators' hunting. Grouse with poor camouflage are more easily detected and thus more likely to fall victim to predators. Well-camouflaged individuals have better chances of surviving and reproducing.
