Nesting habitats and egg predation in Swedish Black Grouse

During 1984-87, nesting habitats of 72 radio-marked Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix were studied at Boda in central Sweden. There was a marked preference to place nests in younger stands (trees 0.5-3.0 m) compared to mature and maturing forests. Egg predation was significantly lower in the preferred stands than in stands with trees > 3.0 m. We found no difference in selection of nesting habitat between older birds and yearlings, despite a large age-related difference in breeding success earlier reported for the hens in this study. Total cover at nest sites varied considerably, but we found no relationship between cover and egg predation.