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Footprints in the snow, Capercaillie? (1 Viewer)

nickderry

C'est pas ma faute, je suis anglais.
Could anybody tell me if these are a caper's footprints, I followed the trail for ages along the path and into the forest, the only birds that I can think of that would walk across the forest floor in this area are capercaillie and hazel grouse, but seeing as the only birds I saw were crossbills and coal tits, I obviously didn't catch up with the culprit.
 

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Short hind toe says gamebird. Certainly not Hazel Grouse, far too large. Overall, seems good for Capercaillie to me, I guess too big for Black Grouse too.
 
Some measurements from BWP - I'll leave you to measure the keys!

Central Toe length

Male Caper 63mm fem 47.2
Pheasant 60.5mm (surprisingly large)
Black Grouse 44mm
 
Most likely Caper then, Black Grouse is extinct in our region and Pheasant is incredibly rare as they don't often release them for hunting round here. Thanks, I just wish I'd walked that way a lot earlier when it was there!
 
Also I imagine the broadness of the toes would indicate feathering on them. Damn, I've been following a Caper! (Still very much need to see one!)
 
Incidently, Hazel Grouse seem to have an inability to walk straight - follow their tracks in the snow and people might begin to think you are drunk ;)
 
but it would be the species you'd have to cancel out before you could say it was caper. Looking at the photos again, the 2 prints in the lower left are defo not pheasant (no hint of a hind toe), and I can't think of anything else of that size (compared to the keys) other than caper. So by process of elimination, I think you're right.
 
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