This is bird note. The native pinewood forests of the Scottish islands are home to

many endangered species, but among the most striking is the Western Capricalee.

These ground nesting birds are the largest living grouse species. Males can

weigh seven pounds and have a plumage of dark gray and brown with shimmering

green breast feathers. The smaller females have brown and black feathers barred

with silver. In 1785 the native Scottish Capricalee population went extinct, but

was successfully reintroduced with birds from Sweden in the 1800s. Now their

future in the island forests is again under threat. Predators like foxes,

crows and pine martens raid their nests while humans encroach on their dwindling

habitat. Increasingly wet and cold early summers have led to high chick mortality

and deer fencing often kills or injures the birds. The last survey revealed

their numbers are down to just 542 from around 20,000 in the 1970s, but a

conservation task force headed by the Royal Society for the protection of

birds and backed by landowners and the government is striving to reverse the

decline. They're making deer fencing more visible, introducing alternative

food sources for predators and rerouting recreational trails away from grouse

habitat. Saving the Capricalee won't be easy, but this iconic bird won't be

lost again without a fight. For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.