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Like many other grouse species, the greater sage-grouse male plays no role in the raising of the young. Males display on dancing grounds known as leks. Females visit the leks to obtain matings, and then go off to raise their brood by themselves. Traditional lekking grounds may be used for years. Although many male greater sage-grouse may display at a lek, only one or two males get picked by a majority of the females for mating.
The breeding habitat for the greater sage-grouse is sagebrush country in the western United States and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. They nest on the ground under sagebrush or grass patches.
The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a large, ground-dwelling bird. Measuring as much as 30 inches in length and two feet tall, it weighs from two to seven pounds. It has a long, pointed tail with legs feathered to the base of the toes and fleshy yellow combs over the eyes. Males are larger than females and sport a white ruff around their necks in addition to the typical mottled brown, black and white plumage. |
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The greater sage-grouse is found at elevations ranging from 4,000 to over 9,000 feet. It is an omnivore, eating mainly sagebrush, some other soft plants, and insects. One of the most interesting aspects of the greater sage-grouse is its nearly complete reliance on sagebrush. These birds cannot survive in areas where sagebrush does not exist.
The historic range of the greater sage-grouse included Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Greater sage-grouse have apparently disappeared from Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Greater sage-grouse that occur in the Bi-State area of eastern California and west central Nevada have been referred to as Mono Basin Area population of greater sage-grouse by some. The geographic range covered by Mono Basin area population of greater sage-grouse includes portions of Carson City , Lyon, Mineral, Esmeralda, and Douglas Counties in Nevada and portions of Alpine and Inyo Counties , and most of Mono County , in California . Several studies have documented that greater sage-grouse in this geographic area are genetically unique compared to populations of greater sage-grouse elsewhere in the species range. However, the full extent of this uniqueness is yet to be determined.
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Greater sage-grouse life history
