Biodiversity Birds

Black grouse is the largest mountain hen in Europe. It mainly inhabits old coniferous and mixed forests in the mountains higher than 1400 m above sea level.

This great blueberry lover also feeds on conifer needles, leaves, buds, flowers and berries. In the spring, they gather at choirs where they attract females with their characteristic singing and flaunting. Males are visibly larger than females, with long tails and necks and dark-colored feathers. The beak is dark yellow. The female is significantly smaller than the male, gray-brown with black transverse stripes, red throat and chest. It nests on the ground, next to a tree or in a thicket of bushes in a natural hollow. Usually during the first half of May, the female lays 6-15 eggs on which she lays for 26 to 29 days. The chicks become independent in late summer and early fall, often staying together in small groups. It is endangered by uncontrolled deforestation. He is very timid and not a skilful flier. In the past, it was also endangered by poaching, while today that type of influence on black grouse has decreased.

The rock partridge is a species of hen that is present in almost all parts of Montenegro. It is connected with an open rocky area mixed with low and medium height vegetation, whether they are ridges, plateaus, canyon edges or the canyons themselves.

Its range extends in the Alps, across the Dinarides, then the rest of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as on the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily. It inhabits areas from the coast of Sicily, up to 3000 m above sea level in the Alps. Within Montenegro, there is a population of global importance, given that the share of the total population in the country is such a small area. It is difficult to spot it in its natural environment, which is the way to protect itself from predators. It feeds on soil, eating insects and seeds. It is considered endangered in almost the entire area, and some of the main problems are habitat loss and overhunting, which is visible in the case of Montenegro. In the winter, they gather in flocks and descend from the plateau lower terrains with less severe meteorological conditions.

It nests in coniferous or mixed forests of the boreal belt. It likes old spruces and fir forests. A small bird with similar size as a starling, with round hea and with ears that are rarely seen.

Gray-brown on uper side of the body with white tiny dots. It has prominent white eye stripes, the eyes are small, yellow and close set which gives a strict look. On the back of the head, there are patterns that give the appearance of a fake face that it uses for defensive purposes. The dwarf owl is a resident, most active at dusk because it has poor eyesight in complete darkness. It feeds on small birds and voles. It is very brave, considering its size, able to defeat a thrush that is bigger than it. It stores food in the hollow in which it nests. An important role in the nesting of this species is played by woodpeckers in whose old hollows they inhabit. The biggest threat to this species is uncontrolled deforestation.