Lyrurus is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily. They are known as black grouse because the male's plumage of both species is colored black as its base colour.

Taxonomy

The genus Lyrurus was introduced in 1832 by the English naturalist William Swainson with the black grouse as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek lura meaning "lyre" with -ouros meaning "-tailed".

Species

The genus contains two species:

Genus Lyrurus – Swainson, 1832 – two species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Black grouseLyrurus tetrix (Linnaeus, 1758) Six subspecies L. t. baikalensis (Lorenz T., 1911)L. t. britannicus (Witherby & Lönnberg, 1913)L. t. mongolicus (Lönnberg, 1904)L. t. tetrix (Linnaeus, 1758)L. t. ussuriensis (Kohts, 1911)L. t. viridanus (Lorenz T., 1891)Europe (Swiss-Italian-French Alps specially) from Great Britain (but not Ireland) through Scandinavia and Estonia, eastwards through Russia and parts of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and ChinaSize: Habitat: Diet:LC
Caucasian grouseLyrurus mlokosiewiczi (Taczanowski, 1875)The Caucasus, specifically the Caucasus MountainsSize: Habitat: Diet:LC