Capercaillies are able to digest conifer needles, and their typical habitat is often described as old coniferous forest. However, the Cantabrian subspecies is not as reliant as other Western capercaillies on pine forest, a type of habitat which is relatively scarce in the Cantabrian mountains. The Cantabrian capercaillie feeds in deciduous woodland, and occurs in mature beech forest and mixed forests of beech and oaks (at elevations ranging from . The capercaillie also uses other microhabitat types such as broom, meadow and heath selectively throughout the year.: It feeds on beech buds, birch catkins, and holly leaves. It also feeds on bilberry, a common component of its diet (Rodriguez and Obeso 2000 as reported in.: