 |
 |
|
Sharp-tailed Grouse
|
 |
| ©
Daniel J. Cox/naturalexposures.com Courtesy of eNature |
Species
description provided by eNature
Description
15-20" (38-51 cm). Resembles, but slightly smaller than, female
pheasant. Mottled with buff, slightly paler below. Tail short and
pointed, with white outer tail feathers. Male has purple neck patch
and yellow comb over eye; tail longer than that of female. Similar
prairie-chickens are barred, not mottled, and show no white in tail.
Voice
During courtship, a low single or double cooing note.
Habitat
Grasslands, scrub forest, and arid sagebrush.
Nesting
10-13 buff-brown eggs in a grass-lined depression in tall grass
or brush.
Range
Resident from Alaska east to Hudson Bay and south to Utah, northeastern
New Mexico, and Michigan.
Discussion
The habitat requirements of this grouse are not as specialized as
those of the prairie-chickens, and so this species has a wider range
and has managed to survive in much larger numbers. The cutting of
large areas of northern coniferous forest, which has created vast
tracts of brushland, has helped the Sharp-tail. Sharp-tails, like
prairie-chickens and Sage Grouse, perform elaborate displays on
communal mating grounds called leks, to which they return faithfully
every year. In one case a homestead was built over a lek, and the
grouse displayed on the farmhouse roof the following spring.
