Behaviour of Capercaillie during Mating Season

Tetrijeb gluhan (Tetrao urogallus L.) je naš najveći pripadnik šumskih koka (Tetraoninae). Kao i drugdje u Europi i u Republici Hrvatskoj je brojnost tetrijeba u opadanju. Razlozi takvog negativnog trenda su višestruki i još uvijek nedostatno razjašnjeni. U ovom radu praćena su dva mužjaka i šest ženki tetrijeba gluhana u umjetnom uzgoju u Prezidu tijekom sezone parenja. Mužjaci su započeli sa slabim pjevom 29. ožujka 2016. Faza pjevanja bez priključivanja ženki trajala je 22 dana i označena je kao faza osnivanja pjevališta. Od priključivanja ženki na pjevalište pa do uspješnog parenja prošlo je narednih 20 dana i ova faza je nazvana pripremnom. U tom razdoblju su ženke zauzimale pozu za parenje, ali su ih mužjaci ignorirali ili neuspješno pokušali pariti. Samo parenje trajalo je 8 dana, uz najveću aktivnost u jutarnjim satima na način da bi se ženke priključivale mužjacima pola sata nakon početka pjevanja. Nakon ovih 8 dana ženke su nastavile polagati jaja bez parenja, a mužjaci su sve slabije pjevali. Konačan prekid pjevanja nastupio je 1. lipnja, nakon puna 64 dana. Utvrđeni rezultati slični su dijelu rezultata zabilježenih na Sjevernom Velebitu glede početka pjevanja te norveškim istraživanjima glede trajanja faze parenja. Zamijećeni su i problemi u vidu frustracija te odabira mjesta za polaganje jaja. Preporuča se nastavak praćenja sCapercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) is our largest member of the forest grouses (Tetraoninae). As elsewhere in Europe the number of grouses in Croatia is decreasing. The reasons for such negative trend are numerous and still insufficiently understood. In the current study, two male and six female capercaillie were monitored in the artificial breeding in Prezid during the mating season. Males began with a weak singing on 29th March 2016. Period of singing without joining females lasted 22 days and was termed as lek establishment phase. Another 20 days passed since females started to join males until successful mating, and this phase was termed preparatory phase. During this period the females displayed pose for mating, but males ignored them or unsuccessfully tried to mate. Real mating lasted eight days, with the highest activity in the morning. It was observed that females joined males approximately 30 min from the onset of males singing. After these eight days females continued to lay eggs without mating and males reduced their singing. The final break of singing appeared on 1st of June, after a total of 64 days. These results are similar to those recorded in the Northern Velebit compared to the beginning of singing and Norwegian research compared to the duration of the real mating phase. The observed problems included a form of frustration and difficulty in choosing places to lay eggs. It is recommended to continue monitoring the next season with the aim of eliminating factor of inexperience, through increasing age of birds