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Hope for Scotland's rare capercaillie bird

A male capercaillie bird does a display on the woodland floor. It has a mixture of black and brown feathers on its wing, tail and head. It has a turquoise chest with blue and black feathers on its back. It holds it head up. Its eyes are surrounded by red markings. There are two female capercaillie birds in the foreground. These are speckled white, brown and black with an orange chest.Getty Images

The critically endangered capercaillie species was once found all over the UK but now there are only around 532 left in the native pinewood forests in Scotland.

It's the lowest number of birds recorded since surveys began over 30 years ago.

Experts say it's because of things like changes to habitat, disturbances due to humans and the impact of predators.

Now the RSPB says there are signs of hope - keep reading to find out more!

More on these rare birds

A male capercaillie bird does a display on the woodland floor with feathered.Getty Images

Male capercaillies will perform a ritual dance, in groups, to compete for females' attention to mate. This is called a lek.

The RSPB recorded 30 lekking males at Abernethy in 2025 which is a 50% increase since 2020.

The conservation manager there, Richard Mason, said it was thanks to "the huge amount of work we are undertaking to improve habitat quality," which he says has dramatically improved conditions in the forest.

"By enhancing these native pinewood forests, we can collectively work towards the recovery of this incredible bird.

"We are seeing many chicks reaching full size and whilst the future of capercaillie remains in the balance, we are hopeful that these techniques can support their recovery in Scotland."