Bird of the Month: Greater Sage-Grouse
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
An iconic bird of the sagebrush country, the Greater Sage-Grouse is under threat. Its fate depends on keeping its required sage habitat and maintaining freedom from disturbances due to human activity.
SAGEBRUSH OBLIGATE
The Greater Sage-Grouse is a bird of the sagebrush habitat of the great plains and requires large, healthy stretches of sagebrush plants for breeding and nourishment through the year. It shares this environment with other birds including Brewer’s Sparrow, Sagebrush Sparrow, and Sage Thrasher. The sage-grouse does not migrate and can withstand hot sun in the summer and harsh cold and snow in winter when it survives on the leaves and buds of sagebrush (Kaufman).
It is placed in the genus Centrocerus, which means pointed tail, from the Greek kentron, a sharp point, and kerkos, a tail, originally meaning the tail of a beast and not a bird. Alternatively, the species name, urophasianus, uses the Greek oura for tail, combined with phasianos, a pheasant (Holloway). The Greater Sage-Grouse is endemic to North America.
FAMOUS COURTSHIP DISPLAYS
Greater Sage-Grouse
Scientific Name: Centrocercus urophasianus
Length: Male - 28”, Female 38”
Wingspan: M - 38”, F - 33”
Weight: M - 6.3lb (2,900g), F- 3.3lb (1,500g)
AOU Alpha Code: GSGR
The Greater Sage-Grouse is known widely for its dramatic and intricate courtship displays on areas in the sagebrush called leks. A lek is a courtship area. The word is probably derived from the Swedish word “lek” meaning sport or play. Some leks have been active and used for hundreds of years. The males compete for females in the center of the space. The largest and most experienced males gain the center, and these few males dominate the flock and may mate with 75% of the females, which observe from the edges of the lek and ultimately choose with which male to mate.
The male’s display is an elaborate combination of calling and strutting. During a display the male puffs out its white chest, inflates two yellow air sacs, raises and spreads its tail, and droops its wings. Its head is thrown back on its shoulders as air sacs are deflated with a loud popping sound (Kaufman). These sounds are combined with wing swishes while strutting: “Swish…swish coo coo POP POP” (Dunne). Once seen, this display is unforgettable. Photos and video of lekking Greater Sage-Grouse can be seen at the Macaulay Library.
NESTING IN THE SAGE
Lekking and breeding begin in March or early April. The female of the Greater Sage-Grouse makes a nest of a shallow depression under a sage plant or near grasses and may place a bit of grass as a lining. Often the eggs, usually 7-9, may be found directly on the ground. Incubation only by the female takes nearly four weeks. The chicks leave the nest shortly after hatching. They feed themselves as the female tends them (Kaufman). At night, the young roost with the parent with only their heads poking out from under her feathers. The young can make short flights after about two weeks. During the breeding season the sage-grouse adds insects to its diet and the young feed primarily on insects. Maturation is slow and it takes months for the young to reach adult size.
A POPULATION AT RISK
By 1963 threats to the population of sage-grouse were becoming more apparent (Bent). Hundreds of thousands of acres of sage habitat had been lost to agriculture, cattle ranching, oil and gas exploration, and fire. This trend has continued, and habitat loss is considered the greatest threat to the sage-grouse (Schroeder, et al). As world temperatures continue to rise, droughts are drier and longer and the invasion of cheatgrass into sage country has added a hot burning fuel to today’s fires. The Bridgeport, WA Labor Day fire in 2020 burned through sage country for 50 miles and 400,000 acres of sage habitat was lost. This fire burned the primary breeding sage-grouse habitat in Washington.
Restoration was already underway in this area, which will now likely need reseeding in an effort to recover it. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recommendation to raise the status of the Greater Sage-Grouse in Washington from threatened to endangered is now under review.
Photo credit by Melissa Hafting. References available upon request from amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org.
In an eight-part podcast series called Grouse from BirdNote Presents, former NPR reporter Ashley Ahearn explores the life of the Greater Sage-Grouse and threats to its survival. Each of the episodes centers on an evocative interview with a stakeholder. The interviewees include wildlife biologists who study the sage-grouse and fires, a cattle rancher in the Methow Valley, a Northern Paiute elder, a natural gas industry executive, and an environmental activist. The series is thought-provoking and informative.