The species – once common in the UK – has been under threat for a number of years, owing to loss of habitat and predators.

But a successful restoration drive has seen the English population of the bird was up from 773 males in 1998 to 1029 in 2006.

Now a consortium of conservationists is extending the project beyond the species' stronghold in the North Pennines, to more remote areas in north west Northumberland and the Yorkshire Dales.

Morag Walker, of The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: "At one stage there were black grouse across the country.

"They were once very common but now they're not, because of predators, and a loss of habitat, and so on.

"We're now trying to expand their range so that they move out to other areas. We're trying to get people on board in the project – landowners, gamekeepers, land managers."

She said there are already "little, isolated pockets" of the grouse in Northumberland and Yorkshire, "but they are tiny, tiny amounts compared to sparrows, for example, which are two-a-penny".

Black grouse are currently in their mating season, during which the males perform showy early morning displays in woodland leks, or mating arenas.

Martyn Howat, director of Natural England North East, said: "It's an exciting bird, it's a big bird and it's an important part of the upland wildlife in Britain."

The project's aim is to see more of the right habitats created in which black grouse can thrive.