Galliformes
Grouses, partridge, and a common quail are Estonia's wild galliformes. The grouses are beautiful and delicate birds, and they have become rare due to overhunting. In Estonia live wood, black, hazel, and willow grouse. The wood grouse and black grouse have gorgeous wedding games which have given the Estonian language the expression '[black] grouse's game' for flirting. The belief about the wood grouse as a forest god might date back to the primordial times. The stories and beliefs tend to arise about important and impressive game birds.
The black grouse is also known as a 'dawn chicken' or 'dawn rooster'. Hunters were ambushing grouse during their spring game and they lured them with decoys and catched with ribbons. Grouse game consists of different poses and noises each with its meaning. In a quiet morning near the marsh, their cooing can be heard kilometres away. The grouse’s cooing is also called 'clucking', 'humming', 'babbling' and 'rattling', as well as 'splashing' and 'paddling' etc. A grouse’s cooing meant a change of weather; it might be raining or snowing, but when a grouse flew into a tree, a thaw was believed to begin.
Mathilda Matjus, Taive Särg (Hiiemäe 2013). Translation: Maarja Villandi-Reiljan.
https://elurikkus.ee/generic-hub/occurrences/d194e494-553a-488a-a7b3-33949987c09b
When grouse are cooing in the tree, it will be cold but when they are cooing on the earth, it will be warm.
Kui tedred puu otsas ukerdavad, tulevad külmad ilmad, kui maa peal ukerdavad, tulevad soojad ilmad.
About Mõllatsi forest. The Manor’s forest watcher went to the forest in the twilight to shoot a grouse during lekking. There was one nice big grouse singing in a tree. The forest watcher shot his gun empty at the grouse but it flew into another tree and started singing again. The hunter shot at it so long that the powder was finished, and then he took bread pieces and put them into the gun. And as soon as he gave a shot, the grouse was disappeared into thin air! A mild woman’s voice said to him: “What have I done to you so badly that you shot me handicapped? As you have injured me for no guilt, your hunting luck must vanish forever!” And the hunter’s luck did vanish forever.
Möllatsi metsa kohta. Mõisa metsavaht lähnud metsise mänguaeg õhto ämariku aeg metsist laskma. Ühe suure puu otsas olnud üks ilus suur metsis ja laulnud. Metsavaht paugutanud püssi metsise peale tühjaks, aga metsisekene lähnud jälle tõise puu otsa ja hakkanud jälle laulma. Kütt põmmutanud teda nii kaua kui juba rohi otsas olnud, siis võtnud ta karmanist leiva raasukesi ja pannud püssi sisse. Ja nii pea, kui ta selle paugu annud, olnud ka metsis kui tina tuhka kadunud! – Ja üks peenike naesterahva hääl üttelnud temale. "Mis olen ma sulle kurja teinud, et sa minu vigaseks lasksid? Ja et sa oled mind ilma süüta vigaseks lasknud, siis peab sinu linnusaak ka igavesti kaduma!" – Küti õnn olla ka igaveste kadunud. –
Once upon a time, there was a brave state forest ranger, who went to the forest at night to watch the wood grouse’s mating play. He made a fire in the forest, took off his new long-legged boots, and lay down to sleep by the fire.
He then saw that the squirrels jumped around the fire and it was already daylight. The man jumped up, annoyed that he was late. He went to get the boots, which were left to dry by the fire, but he saw that they had been thrown into the fire and the ends of the legs had burned to the ground. He plucked them out, then jumped barefoot in the forest beneath the pine where the grouse was playing, but suddenly the grouse fell silent and the pitch black night was once again upon him. The ranger was scolding himself, thinking he had dreamed everything.
He threw himself down by the fire again. And then a marvelously beautiful woman in a sky-blue dress appeared by the fire, hitched up her clothes and showed her butt to the ranger. The ranger jumped up angrily, and grabbed to catch the cheeky woman – but she was suddenly gone. She went into the forest, sneering: "Good, good, you're missing your boots and also the grouse, and now you're also missing a beautiful woman!"
The hunter got angry and went home barefoot, cursing the beautiful woman and saying that the devil must have tempted him, a brave man.
Kord olnud üks julge kroonumetsavaht, läinud öösel metsa mõtuse1 mängu vaatama. Teinud metsa tule maha ja võtnud uued pika säärega saapad jalast ära. Heitnud tule kõrvale magama.
Ja siis näinud, et oravad hüpanud tule ümber ja valge olnud väljas. Mees karanud pahameelega üles, et on hiljaks jäänud. Läinud saapaid võtma, mis tule äärde kuivama pani, aga näeb – saapad on tulle visatud ja sääreotsad sootumaks ära põlenud. Kiskunud need veel välja, hüpanud siis paljajalu metsa mõtuse mängu männi alla, aga korraga jääb mõtus vakka ja kottpime öö on jälle korraga käes. Metsavaht tapleb iseendaga, arvab, et on kõike unes näinud.
Heidab jälle tule ääre maha. Ja siis ilmub jälle tule juurde üks imeilus naisterahvas, kel taevakarva sinine kleit seljas, võtab riided üles, näitab metsavahile tagumikku. Metsavaht kargab vihaga üles, rabab, et tagumiku näitajat kinni võtta – see on aga äkitselt kadunud. Läks metsa, hüüdes: „Paras, paras, saabastest oled ilma ja veel mõtusest ka, ja nüüd oled ilusast naisterahvast ka ilma!“ Kütt vihastanud ja läinud paljajalu koju, ilusat naisterahvast kirudes ja ütelnud, et kurat olla teda, julget meest, kiusanud.
1 mõtus – metsis