Greater sage grouse
The Greater Sage Grouse is a unique game bird native to the dry plains and hills of western North America and a small region of south-central Canada. Known for its distinctive diet, this bird primarily feeds on the leaves of sagebrush, which also serves as its nesting and roosting habitat. Males can reach up to three feet long and weigh as much as eight pounds, featuring striking plumage with black throats and eye combs that are visually distinct from the more subdued females. Sage grouse are social creatures, often seen in flocks, and engage in elaborate courtship displays during breeding seasons at designated locations known as leks.
These birds face significant challenges today due to habitat destruction from land development. Historically, their populations benefited from hunting restrictions in the mid-20th century, but current threats have raised concerns about their survival. Sage grouse typically have a lifespan of 5 to 10 years, and their ability to adapt and thrive in their natural environment is closely tied to the availability of sagebrush, which remains crucial for their sustenance, especially during winter months. Understanding the life cycle and behavioral patterns of the Greater Sage Grouse is essential for conservation efforts aimed at protecting this remarkable species.
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Greater sage grouse
The sage grouse is a rare game bird of the plains and hills of North America. Its name comes from its eating the leaves of the sagebrush as well as roosting and nesting underneath these tree-like shrubs.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Centrocercus
Species: Urophasianus
In the dry plains and hills of western North America and a small region of southcentral Canada, live flocks of sage grouse. Sage grouse were popular gamebirds for many years. In the 1940s and 1950s, the United States government restricted the number of grouse hunters could shoot, and the birds' population began increasing. In the twenty-first century, they face threats from the destruction of their habitats.
A male sage grouse may be up to three feet (90 centimeters) long and weigh up to eight pounds (3 1/2 kilograms) in the summer when he is fattening up for the winter. A female is slightly smaller and lighter. The cock, or male, has brown-striped plumage, or feathering, on his back and wings. His breast and the base of his neck are white, contrasting his black throat. Yellow or orange patches above his eyes look like large eyebrows, called eye combs. Long, black-and-white plumes extend from his rump into his tail. The female, or hen, is similar to the male, but she does not have a black throat, white breast and neck, and yellow eye combs.
Sage grouse are social birds that live in flocks. The grouse forage for various plants in spring and summer, including dandelions, prickly lettuce, salsify, grasses, legumes, buckwheat, and weeds. During the fall, they eat alfalfa, clover, and berries. In the winter, the sagebrush leaves provide the main nourishment for these birds. Unlike other grouse species, sage grouse do not have gizzards. A gizzard is a special stomach inside a bird that contains small stones and other matter for grinding its food. Sage grouse avoid hard seeds for this reason. All the water they need comes from the foods they eat. Sage grouse forage during the day and take dust baths to clean their plumage.
From February to May, large flocks of sage grouse gather to breed. The young cocks arrive first in February, and the adults arrive several weeks later. The area where the birds gather is called a lek. In a lek, the cocks perform their courtship dances to attract females. The males also make whip-like "cracking" noises with their large, inflatable throat sacs. These "cracks" may be heard 1,000 feet (300 meters) away. After mating, the females fly to their nesting sites under sagebrush which may be six miles (10 kilometers) away. The females lay 7 to 9 eggs in shallow hollows in the ground and incubate them by themselves. They may nest near other nests. During the day, females may leave their nests a couple of times each day for up to 15 minutes. These are dangerous periods for the eggs that often fall prey to coyotes, ground squirrels, badgers, and magpies. The eggs hatch 25 to 27 days after being laid. The chicks can fly around 10 feet after only one week. At two to three weeks, they can fly well, and they master the skill by 5 or 6 weeks. The mothers lead their young to fields and meadows where they can forage for themselves. Some young roam up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the nest during nice weather. They molt for the first time and then leave the nest around 10 to 12 weeks old.
From their leks and the places where they raise their young, the sage grouse may fly distances of 30 to 100 miles (50 to 160 kilometers) to winter grounds. They gather in flocks of 50 to 100 or even 1,000 birds and find areas where the snow does not cover all the sagebrush.
Current threats to the sage grouse are the development of land which destroys the birds' habitats.
The life span of sage grouse is 5 to 10 years.
Bibliography
"Greater Sage-Grouse." National Audubon Society, www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/greater-sage-grouse. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.
"Greater Sage Grouse." U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/species/greater-sage-grouse-centrocercus-urophasianus. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.
Manchak, Jeff. "Centrocercus Urophasianus." Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Centrocercus‗urophasianus. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.