The Sharp-tailed Grouse is a large grouse with a sharply pointed tail, held straight up when displaying. It is brown with white and dark spots, arranged in cryptic patterns. The bird has light-colored undersides and a slight crest on its head. Yellowish eyebrows and pinkish-purple air sacs at the sides of its neck are visible on the male when he displays. Sharp-tailed Grouse live in grassy areas with patches of trees in the northern Columbia Basin.
Their primary habitat is the grass and shrub savanna in the three-tip sage and central arid steppe zones. They are also found in grassy openings in the lowest edges of the Ponderosa pine zone. In summer they spend most of their time in more open grasslands, while in the winter they make use of trees and shrubs for cover.
Males gather on a communal breeding ground, or lek, to display for females. When displaying, males point their tails up, spread their wings, hold their heads low, and stamp their feet. While doing this, they inflate and deflate the air sacs in their breasts, creating a booming sound. In the spring, Sharp-tailed Grouse forage mostly for leaves, green shoots, and flowers. Insects, especially grasshoppers, are also an important food item at this time of year, particularly among the young.
In the fall, the diet becomes more varied and is made up of seeds, berries, leaves, and waste grains. The species also lives throughout most of Canada, especially the interior plains provinces. There are several subspecies of this grouse throughout its range. Sharp-tailed grouse habitat requires a mosaic of landscapes to really thrive.
Native prairies or CRP plantings provide the grassland component they seek for nesting, displaying and cover throughout the spring and summer. However, shrublands and small pockets of deciduous trees e. However, if trees or shrubs become a major component in the habitat structure, sharp-tails will abandon the area. They also utilize riparian areas and agricultural fields where they occur. Lek sites are often used for many years and are located in areas with short grass species, mowed or grazed areas, natural openings or even forest clear-cuts NatureServe While it occupies some of the same habitat and is closely related to the greater prairie chicken , the sharp-tailed grouse is able to survive much further north.
It even burrows into snowdrifts to stay warm in winter, much as ruffed grouse do. The sharp-tailed grouse was apparently once so numerous that flocks could block out the sun Minnesota DNR But vanishing habitat slowly took its effect on the species and populations crashed with the habitat loss. They are extirpated from much of their former range and now primarily occur in Northern states with adequate habitat. Their cousin the Heath Hen has even went extinct. The primary habitat threats to sharp-tails comes from grassland conversion to agriculture, overgrazing of cattle and natural succession.
Natural wildfires are very important for setting back the growth and succession of shrublands and woodlands. While we now understand that fires are critical to keeping open grassland habitat, we have suppressed natural fire regimes for decades. Fortunately, land managers now routinely use brush shearing and prescribed burns to rejuvenate sharp-tailed grouse habitat. In recent years, climate change studies have cited concerns of rising temperatures and issues with sharp-tailed grouse nesting.
The secondary concern being related to chicks with a study in Saskatchewan that showed issues of both overheating from rising temperatures and an increase in perception resulting in higher chikc mortality.
The sharp-tailed grouse is considered secure and stable across most of its range, despite significant habitat loss NatureServe The estimated global breeding population of the sharp-tailed grouse is , birds, with about 57 percent occurring in the United States and the remainder occurring in Canada All About Birds Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
The springtime dance battles of grouse and other species are irresistible camera fodder. Photographer Noppadol Paothong explains how to nail your shot without disturbing the delicate mating ritual. Consider this your guide to the mating ritual that shapes the lives of a hundred dancing, singing bird species. Latin: Tympanuchus cupido. Latin: Centrocercus urophasianus. Latin: Tympanuchus pallidicinctus. Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats.
Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk. Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives. The Sharp-tailed Grouse is typical of regions that have open grassland mixed with groves of trees or shrubs. Closely related to the prairie-chickens, it is found mostly farther north.
On winter nights it may roost by burrowing into snowdrifts, where the snow helps insulate it from the cold. Photo gallery. Feeding Behavior Forages mostly on ground in summer, mostly in trees and shrubs in winter.
The main purpose of the Lek is to provide an area for the males to display their dancing ability to the females. The strongest and fittest males dance in the center of the Lek. The longer and stronger the bird is able to dance, the more impressed the female is.
During the dance, many of the males must take breaks to rest Those that rest the least and dance the fastest are dominant and preferred by the females. Description - female: Very much like the male but without the yellow eyebrows and purple air sacs.
Description - chicks: The chicks have the same mottled brown and grey camouflage as their parents but their heads are quite yellow.
Feeding: The sharp-tailed grouse are mainly vegetarians although they do eat some insects during the summer. Their plant diet include seeds, leaves, grains, berries, buds and flowers.
0コメント