Category: Grouse. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA. LIFE SPAN: 7 years. Sustained flights rarely exceed a few miles. Sage-grouse eat leaves, buds, flowers, forbs, and insects. Greater Sage-grouse Monitoring Life History. Lifespan: 1 to 1-1/2 years; However, they have been found to survive up to 10 years in the wild. Conservation Male greater sage-grouse assemble at communal display grounds—called leks—to strut their stuff in the hopes of wooing a female. The National Wildlife Federation is actively working to protect the greater sage-grouse and the sagebrush steppe it calls home, which sustains not only the bird, but many of America’s cherished species. The National Wildlife Federation is providing resources to help families and caregivers across the country provide meaningful educational opportunities and safe outdoor experiences for children during these incredibly difficult times. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), also known as the sagehen, is the largest grouse (a type of bird) in North America. On average the birds live between three and six years, though some can live up to nine years. Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds. The male’s dance includes swishing his wings and letting out a series of low cooing sounds. (1999). The average lifespan is 1-3 years, although individual sage-grouse have been known to live up to 10 years. After mating, males have no further contact with the female or the young. The Gunnison sage-grouse is smaller, and the male has a stronger banded pattern on its tail feathers. Leaves (primarily of sagebrush) dominate the diet throughout most of the year. Location Currently, greater sage-grouse are found in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Eastern California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Fun Facts for Kids During the winter, the birds prepare for the approaching breeding season, gaining weight and strength by eating sagebrush leaves and getting required moisture from the snow. Fun Facts for Kids During the winter, the birds prepare for the approaching breeding season, gaining weight and strength by eating sagebrush leaves and getting required moisture from the snow. Many females end up mating with the same male; most of the other males on the lek wind up with no mating opportunities at all. Each spring, at dawn, the sagebrush country of western North America fills with a strange burbling sound and an even stranger sight. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 150,000, with 94% living in the U.S. and 6% in Canada. Leks are located in clear areas such as broad ridgetops, grassy swales, dry lakebeds, and sometimes recently burned areas. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Sauer, J. R., D. K. Niven, J. E. Hines, D. J. Ziolkowski Jr., K. L. Pardieck, J. E. Fallon, and W. A. The disturbance associated with infrastructure, construction, and operation of drill pads and wells also has measurable, negative impacts on lek attendance and population size. Dandelions and other forbs are important for females as they prepare for laying. In the winter, most of the sage grouse's diet is made up of the leaves and shoots of the sagebrush. Females make bowl-shaped nests scraped into the soft soil and lined with leaves, grasses and forbs, small twigs, and feathers that the female plucks from her breast. The Mono Basin population of sage grouse may also be distinct. Sibley, D. A. Fish & Wildlife Service found the greater sage-grouse to be "warranted but precluded" from listing under the U.S. Link (2017). Endangered Species Act due to higher conservation priorities, but identified the bird as a candidate for future listing. Females visit these leks to size up the displays and choose their mates. Is a large, ground-dwelling bird, up to 30 inches long and 2 feet tall, weighing from 2 to 7 pounds. He tilts his head back, rapidly inflating, bouncing, and deflating the yellow, balloon-like pouches on his chest. In the spring, it also eats weeds and grasses. Within minutes of hatching, a chick is able to feed itself. Habitat: The breeding habitat for the greater sage-grouse is sagebrush country in the western United States and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The bird’s range across the American West includes California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Females do all the nest-building, incubation, and raising of the chicks without any help from males. She may lay anywhere between 4 and 11 eggs per clutch. On average the birds live between three and six years, though some can live up to nine years. Unlike other some birds, greater sage-grouse do not swallow and hold gizzard stones—rocks that sit in a bird's gastrointestinal tract—so they are unable to digest seeds and nuts. The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds, birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA. Factors such as oil and gas development, land conversion for agricultural use, climate change, and human development have reduced the greater sage-grouse's habitat to half of its historic range and caused the bird’s numbers to decline by more than 90 percent. Search, discover, and learn about wildlife. 2016 State of North America's Birds' Watch List. cover and food. From roughly March through May, males gather on leks at dawn.