Dina Betts

ESE 360

November 3, 2015

Every March in the great sagebrush steppes of the western states a small, strange bird leaves the safety of the sagebrush cover to perform one of the most unique mating rituals in the West. The male Sage-Grouse, like any good performer, first enhances his looks for the stage. He unfurls his long spiky tail feathers behind him, making himself look like a small, malicious peacock. The black and white feathers making the fanned tail of the bird look like sharp thorns protruding from the birds back and seem just as sharp. A scarf of white plumage fits gloriously around his neck giving a distinguished look that even Curella De Vile would envy. Sprouting from this scarf is one of his most predominate features, two bright yellow inflatable air pouches hidden within the rough plumage of this scarf. They rest right above his chest so when he puffs out his chest and inflates these sacks the striking contrast of the yellow and white is plainly visible. An entire gallon of air can be drawn into the sacks so when squeezed out it creates a unique popping unheard elsewhere in the wild (“Greater Sage-Grouse”). With all his features ready the male finally steps out onto the clearing, called a lek, ready to begin his performance. Tens of other quickly follow our Sage-Grouseon to the plain. He must instantly choose the best most visible location on the lek and run to claim it. Once claimed he fights to defend his turf, as all the grouse desperately attempt to increase their hopes of successful mating(). Often all around the one to 40 acre lek fighting among the birds breaks out. Imagine the scene. Tens of these strange turkey-like birds aggressively fighting each other on an 88 yard stretch on the Solider Field stadium (the size of only one acre). Males run at each other, wings flapping and heads bobbing in a vicious scuttle for dominance. Injuries from these matches are rarely severe, unlike the human football players who normally play on these fields. Yet the outcome is just as decisive, each male has won the patch of land on which he will perform his ritual. Now that the boundaries are set the show begins. The males strut around on their hard fought land, bobbing their heads while inflating their air sacks and popping them out. Their spiked tales fully spread behind them give each male a distinctive look of grandeur. The males perform this beautiful dance every day from the twilight hours to a soon after the sunrise.

They potentially preform up to weeks before the females even arrive and spend over a month gracing them with this daily performance (Aldridge, 1998).

“Large leks sounds like popcorn in a microwave,” stated BLM biologist Cam Collins (Harris, 2013). From watching many videos of the Sage-Grouse I must agree. There is a distinct ‘swish-swish-pop-pop’ sound that emerges from the bird preforming his dance. According to the Cornell Lab Bird Academy the pattern the bird exhibits is three heaves of the inflated throat pouch and on the last on he pulls his head down deep into his chest, allowing the popping sound to reverberate throughout his yellow sacks. This seems a truly amazing site to witness but sadly today it is harder and harder to find leks which are still in use.

It is estimated that Sage-Grouse populations have been constantly declining over the past few decades. In Oregon the populations were found to have fallen by over 60% from 1940 to 1985 (Crawford and Lutz, 1985). As these birds have a low replacement rate competition for food causes strain on the entire population. The main source of food for the Sage-Grouse is the abundant sagebrush surrounding their habitats As more and more pieces of the sagebrush sea are segmented away from each other due to human civilization and natural resource extraction the birds are losing the needed food source. Leks are abandoned as areas around them become too noisy, destroyed, or easily spotted by predators. Female Sage-Grouse struggle to find suitable locations to build their nests. Nests need to be able to provide water, coverage and an abundance of insects for the hatchlings to eat once they hatch. The hatchlings are unable to digest the sage for up to 5 weeks so they rely on small insects to sustain them (“Greater Sage-Grouse). These environments simply are not available on the outskirts of human developments.

For now though these strange birds do continue to exist on in the sagebrush steppes but if populations continue to decline they soon may meet the same ending as their now extinct relative the Heath Hen (Paothong, 2014). People are paying over $5,000 to go on guided outings to see the birds and though not everyone can afford that we all must work to ensure the experience of witnessing the great mating ritual of the Sage-Grouse will be available for future generations.

Works Cited:

ALDRIDGE CL. 1998. Status of Sage Grouse (Centrocer-cus urophasianus) in Alberta. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Environmental Protection, Wildlife Management Division, and Alberta Conservation Association, Wildlife Status Report No. 13. 23 p

“All About Fancy Males – The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.” All About Fancy Males. Cornell University. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. < https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/features/fancymales/on-a-sage-grouse-lek>

Harris, Dylan. “The Sage Grouse Experience: Watching Controversial Birds Strut Their Stuff.” The Sage_Grouse. Elko Daily Free Press, 9 May 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.

Behan, Mark. “Sage Grouse.” Sage Grouse. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Pres, 1 June 2004. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. <http://www.lewis-clark.org/article/1904>

Crawford, J. A., and R. S. Lutz. “Sage Grouse Population Trends in Oregon, 1941-1983”. The Murrelet 66.3 (1985): 69–74. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/3535162?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>

“Greater Sage-Grouse.” Life History, All About Birds. Cornell University. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

Nature: Saving the Sagebrush Sea. PBS, 2015. Film.

Paothong, Noppadol. “Heath Hen | Save the Last Dance – A Story of North American Grassland Grouse.” Save the Last Dance A Story of North American Grassland Grouse. Save the Last Dance Blog, 20 Aug. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. < http://www.savethelastdancebook.com/category/heath-hen/>