A medium prairie grouse with distinctive pointed tail. Males perform elaborate spring "dance" on leks — rapidly stomping while inflating purple air sacs. Considered the most spectacular avian dance display in North America.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The sharp-tailed grouse, also known as the sharptail or fire grouse, is a medium-sized prairie grouse. One of three species in the genus Tympanuchus, the sharp-tailed grouse is found throughout Alaska, much of Northern and Western Canada, and parts of the Western and Midwestern United States. The sharp-tailed grouse is the provincial bird of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
Source: Wikipedia — Sharp-tailed grouse Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Mottled brown grouse with a short, pointed tail held up in display showing white outer feathers; yellow eye combs and purple neck sacs in displaying males.
Similar species. Greater Prairie-Chicken has a rounded tail and orange neck sacs; the pointed white-edged tail marks the Sharp-tailed.
Voice. Displaying males give low cooing, gobbling, and a distinctive bubbling 'coo-oo' plus wing-rattling and foot-stamping.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Seeds, buds, fruits, insects.
Behavior. A grouse of open grasslands and brushy prairie; males gather at communal display grounds (leks) to dance, stamping their feet and inflating purple neck sacs while spinning.
§ Range
Northern US and Canadian prairies
§ Habitat
Open prairies, savannas, brushy edges
§ Threats
Grassland loss to crops, fire suppression, energy development.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the sharp-tailed grouse is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support prairie conservation. Oppose unmitigated wind farm siting on leks. Maintain brushy prairie edges.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Sharp-tailed grouse
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Tympanuchus phasianellus
- IUCN Red List — search for Tympanuchus phasianellus
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Tympanuchus phasianellus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
