One of our aims is to preserve its offspring.     How? We shall separate  5% of the income     Our aim is to declare several habitations of the capercaillie in the Rhodopes for protected areas: thus the forests can be saved from cutting down and the wood-cock will keep its home.  The capercaillie inhabits only old-aged pine and beech woods and disappears along with their cutting down. A serious threat for it is the illegal hunt for stuff.

Why is the wood-cock so precious?

It is a great chance to meet the capercaillie in nature by accident. It avoids places visited by people. The wood-cock has a keen hearing and sight. They have been developed since the time of Tertiary (65 - 1 mil. Y.) - a period, famous with the mass passing away of plant and animal species within a short geological period. The non-flying dinosaurs have died at the very beginning of the Tertiary and some of them - during the period. This mass extinction of the species marked the end of Mesozoic era and the beginning of Cenozoic period.

The capercaillie produces the most unique and inimitable sound of our fauna. Once in the year, springtime, for a couple of weeks, the instinct for prolonging the species starts "tokuvaneto". It consists of three various kinds of sounds, connected in one composition: knocking (it is like hitting two dry sticks), "plukane" (it is like pulling cork out of a bottle) and "brusene" (a sound that resembles whetting scythe). When the last element begins, the cock closes its ears` channels and for a several seconds it is deaf.

The wood -cocks are flying quickly, low and noisily between the trees or above them. They fly off often, one at a time. The length of the body reaches 95 cm and the spread of the wings 85-120 cm. The capercaillie is spread in Bulgaria in the mountains: Rhodope, Rila and Pirin from 1200 m. to 2000 m. above sea level.

The cock makes its wedding at certain places, called "tokovishta". Sometimes the male birds make cruel fights. During the day the courting is on the earth, after midnight it sings from the trees. The food of the capercaillie is different depending on the season. In winter it eats leaf-buds and needles of the white pine. After snow melting, it searches for food on the earth. During spring and summer its menu includes fruits, raspberry, blackberry, horse-tail and other plants. The adult birds eat mainly plant food. For the baby- birds insect food is important.