Endangered life vaultT2 DocumentedRegion onlyObservation

Capercaillie extinct in Scotland, 1785

The last documented native capercaillie in Scotland, before reintroduction in the 1830s.

1770 to 1785 · Scottish Highlands · CTF-END-000005

About this record

Documented in eighteenth-century accounts. The species was lost to felling of pinewoods and hunting, then reintroduced from Sweden. Its second decline is under way today.

Region only. Shown as a named region. No point is published.

Connections

Same taxon

Capercaillie display call, CairngormsT1 Recorded
2019 · link T2
The species lost in 1785 and the species recorded in 2019 are the same, via reintroduction.
Historical accounts and the Chronos Terra catalogue.

Time: 1770 to 1785 (±10 years)
Precision: Decade
Dated by: Documented date
Time bands: Modern
Location: Scottish Highlands · Region only
Taxon: Tetrao urogallus, Western capercaillie · IUCN LC
Verification: Expert verified
Sensitivity: Open

Rights and source

Licence: CC0 1.0 Public domain dedication
Attribution: Historical accounts (public domain)
Rights holder: Public domain
Source: Historical accounts (retrieved 2026-09-01)
Access: Link to the holding archive
Cite as: Chronos Terra Foundation (2026). Capercaillie extinct in Scotland, 1785. CTF-END-000005.

Registry entry

Identifier: CTF-END-000005 (persistent; never reused)
Registered: 2026-09-01
Version: 1f085d8dd9fe (content hash; changes when the record changes)
Status: Published, validated and privacy-audited
Machine-readable: JSON for this record · Full registry

Plant a memorial tree for this species Opens the Eco-Memory Registry, a sister programme, on an external site. Opens Eco-Memory Registry, an external site.